Unsinkable
by ShiningCity
Summary: Historical AU. Peeta Mellark is headed to the United States with his mother on the Titanic. His future seems pretty bleak since his mother has everything planned out for him. But when he meets a young, carefree woman of the lower class named Katniss Everdeen, his whole world is turned upside down. NOT A TITANIC MOVIE FANFICTION. Disclaimer: All characters belong to Suzanne Collins
1. Chapter 1

**APRIL 10, 1912**

**_~Peeta~_**

As the chaos of the Southampton harbor came into view, I felt my heart sink into my stomach. The reality of my future was finally setting in. Mother beamed with excitement next to me. The reality of my future was finally setting in with her as well.

We were going to the United States of America.

I wiped my sweaty palms on the sides of my pants as I gazed out the window. The car we rode in maneuvered slowly through the dense crowd of people – most of whom were only there to see the great ship off.

The _Titanic_. As the massive beast appeared before us, I expected to feel some kind of thrill or even amazement at such a glorious achievement of mankind. Instead, I felt more uneasy.

Mother had persuaded – no, _forced_ – me to move to the States with her. After Father died, I was overcome with grief. His kind face, wise words, and gentle manners would only live in my memory now. Mother, on the other hand, was relieved. _Relieved_. I knew that she always hated the bakery business despite the fact that we thrived on it. She felt that we Mellarks were destined for something greater. So Mother managed to sell the bakery for a ridiculous amount of money and bought our way to the States.

My brothers were old enough to escape my Mother's clutches and stay in England. While I, only 18, was forced to go with her. My mother left no money for my brothers and instead bought a large home in New York. She was then going to send me to college. I would be the first of the Mellarks to ever attend college. She had meticulously planned my future, binding me to her in a way that made it nearly impossible to break away.

According to her plan, I would become a wealthy businessman in New York, thus making enough money to support her _and _make the Mellark name well-known among the upper class.

The rebellious side of me often entertained the thought of running away once we docked in New York, but the true me, the compassionate and selfless me, knew I could never abandon my Mother like that despite the painful childhood I had endured because of her. While to her our future was bright and exciting, to me it was full of darkness and void of freedom.

I wouldn't be surprised if she planned to marry me off to some rich girl either. That was probably the most difficult aspect of my bleak future to bear. Most boys my age would probably be thrilled with the idea of getting educated, making good money, and marrying a pretty rich girl. But not me. I enjoyed the quiet life back home. The warm glow of the bakery's kitchen, Father's bright smiles and wise words, my brothers wrestling in the living room. It was all gone. I doubted I would even see my brothers again.

The car finally came to a stop by the ship. I forced my dark thoughts away and opened the door to let myself out. The crowd of people had swelled. My eyes danced around, taking in people's faces. Every single person was beaming, eyes sparkling as they gazed at the enormous ship. Passengers stood on the top deck waving to those on the dock.

After the driver had opened the door for my Mother and helped her out of the car, she gave him instructions for our luggage and began to make her way toward the first-class entrance of the ship.

As we crossed the walkway that led from the dock into the ship, I peered over the edge to look at the water down below. I shook my head in disbelief. It was amazing that such a vessel could float. Yet they called it the unsinkable ship.

We were escorted to our suite and left to settle in. Our maids began to unpack our things as I gawked at the luxury surrounding me. A bathroom with a tub, shower, and a double sink, a sitting room with a fireplace, two bedrooms with glorious beds, a private promenade, and windows that looked out onto the sea. I felt the corners of my mouth tug upward at the thought of watching an ocean sunset through those windows. Maybe this voyage wouldn't be so bad…

**_~Katniss~_**

Gale had spent every last bit of our money to buy ourselves tickets for a voyage on the _Titanic_. For the first time in a long time I began to feel happiness swell in my chest.

As the ship came into view, a smile had spread itself on my face. I turned to Gale to find him looking at me with a smile on his face that matched my own.

"I haven't seen you smile like that in a long time, Catnip," he said, putting his arm around my shoulders.

Ever since my sister died, I had been lost in a sea of darkness, hopelessly trying to find my way out. Now that it was just Gale and me, we decided to make new lives for ourselves in a completely different country.

Our fathers were brothers, but both had died from a fever when I was 16 and Gale was 18. My mother succumbed to grief and died a month later. Prim, who had only been 12, became solely dependent on me. But Gale, whose mother died giving birth to him, moved in with us, got a job, and managed to support us.

Then Prim got the same fever as my father and uncle had and also died 3 months later. Her death devastated me in a way the others' hadn't. She was my little sister. She made me believe that hope existed even after our parents died. But then death took her as well. I was inconsolable for months. I almost died on more than one occasion for forgetting to eat.

Fortunately, Gale didn't give up. He kept me alive and kept me from falling to the point of no return in the abyss of my grief. Then he surprised me and told me he had bought us tickets for the _Titanic_ and to the States. At first I was furious with him. How could he spend that much money without telling me? How could he just assume that I would uproot my life and leave my home? But after I calmed down, I began to see sense in his plan. We could make a new name for ourselves, start fresh in the States, and be a part of history by boarding the _Titanic _on her first voyage.

When I saw that ship, the smile on my face couldn't even begin to explain the excitement I felt. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I knew in that moment that my sister would be thrilled for me. She would never want me to wallow in despair the rest of my life. She would want me to move on and be happy again. It took seeing something so glorious and majestic for me to finally accept that.

After we boarded the ship, we wandered around, trying to find our cabins in steerage. Neither of us was in a hurry, marveling at the luxury of the ship, even in the lower-class decks.

Once we had finally found our separate cabins and settled in with our meager belongings, Gale asked if I would like to go on the top deck. I nodded eagerly.

We made our way back through the maze of hallways and stairwells until we finally found ourselves in the open air. In the time it had taken for us to find our rooms and settle in, the ship had already left the harbor. I hadn't even felt it move.

The sun shone brightly above us and warmed our skin as we made our way to the railing at the back of the ship. We laughed heartily as we raced to see who could get there first. The looks of disgust that I got from the upper-class women couldn't dampen my mood.

As we reached the railing and looked out onto the sea, my mouth fell open. The clear blue sky reflected on the glassy surface of the ocean, the sunlight glistened off of the waves. It was absolutely breathtaking. I closed my eyes and basked in the glory of the open sea. The sun kissed my cheeks and the wind caressed my hair. I could smell the salt in the air and listened to the propellers churn the water below us. That sound was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. It was taking me to my new life.


	2. Chapter 2

**_~Peeta~_**

Eventually, Mother and I had made our way to the top deck. The wind was chilly but the sun was warm. I took a deep breath of the fresh ocean air. The open sea seemed to take away my problems for the moment. Then all of my problems came crashing back upon me as I felt Mother slip her arm through mine.

We strolled along the deck, never getting too close to the railing. I desperately wanted to lean over it and feel the sea breeze tug at my coat and ruffle my hair. But Mother was afraid. When I mentioned approaching the railing, she said, "One could too easily fall over, Peeta. What if the ship jolted or you lost your balance?"

Even though I found her fear irrational, I didn't mention it again. Perhaps I would come back tonight.

Suddenly loud, quick footsteps pounded by me accompanied by a rush of laughter. Mother gasped but I stared at the pair who had run by us curiously.

It was a man and a woman, probably around my age. Both had dark hair and appeared to be of the lower class. The man was dressed in loose brown pants and an old white button-down shirt. The woman was wearing a faded green dress that hugged her waist in a way that immediately made me blush.

I continued to watch them as they leaned over the railing at the back of the ship, holding out their arms and letting the wind blow through their hair and clothes. I had the strong urge to join them, but Mother's voice chirped beside me, "What ill manners the lower class possesses. No regard for their superiors or for elegance."

I discreetly rolled my eyes. We had only recently become a part of the upper class. It astonished me how quickly Mother had seemed to forget that – maybe that wasn't so astonishing.

I looked over at the pair again just as the woman turned around. She was smiling the most brilliant smile I had ever seen. It made her eyes shine. Silver eyes that nearly knocked me off my feet. Her dark hair, which was pulled back in a braid, complemented her olive-toned skin. I felt my pulse quicken.

Suddenly those silver eyes met mine and that brilliant smile that had so beautifully graced her face melted away into a scowl. Her brows knitted together, her eyes narrowed, and her nose that was lightly spotted with freckles slightly wrinkled.

I quickly turned away, feeling as though I would be caught as the man that had destroyed such a beautiful sight. Why had she looked at me that way? Then it donned on me. The way I was dressed, the way my Mother was dressed, and the way my Mother was probably looking at this woman right now. She felt that I was looking down on her.

I chanced a look again, hoping that the look on my face was apologetic but she had already directed her attention back to her companion who seemed to be making some sort of joke. I realized as he gestured at me that I must be the brunt of the joke. The woman laughed and I sighed inwardly. If only they knew how desperately I wished to be like them. Carefree.

My Mother cleared her throat, directing my attention back to her. Her eyes flitted quickly between me and the pair I had been observing.

Suddenly a bugle began playing further down the deck, signaling that supper began in 45 minutes.

"Let us get ready for supper, darling," Mother said smoothing her dress and sticking her nose up ever so slightly.

I escorted her back to our suite, with the image of the woman smiling burned in my mind.

**_~Katniss~_**

After Gale and I had left the top deck to see what else we could discover on the ship, my mind kept flitting back to that man I saw with who looked to be his mother. Those crystal blue eyes and dark blonde hair. His strong jaw and broad shoulders.

I'm not exactly sure why I scowled at him. While his mother was clearly expressing disdain for me, that wasn't what bothered me. It was the look of longing and hopelessness in his eyes. He looked so sad, but looked as if he wanted to join me as well.

Gale suddenly nudged me, breaking me from my thoughts. "You alright there, Catnip?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," I smiled at him to reassure him. I wasn't going to let the thought of this sad man ruin my joy.

While we explored the ship, we discovered a lift, a heated pool, and a gymnasium, all reserved for the upper class. We were quickly redirected to a lower-class area, but we continued our exploration once out of sight of the crew workers. We found the third-class Dining Saloons, the General Room, and the Smoking Room. Eventually we found ourselves back in our cabins.

When we reached mine, I noticed my cabin-mates had arrived. Both were about my size in stature and size, but one had brown hair and the other had auburn hair. The one with auburn hair smiled warmly at me when she saw me hesitating in the doorway.

She approached me and stuck out her hand. "Hello. I'm Annie. I guess we are going to be staying in here together during this voyage. Isn't it exciting?" she said as I gingerly shook her hand.

"I'm Johanna," the brunette said without even looking toward me as she continued to unpack her things.

"Katniss," I replied quietly. "I'm Katniss."

"It's nice to meet you, Katniss. Have you explored any of the ship yet?"

I nodded. "I have actually. With my cousin Gale."

Johanna suddenly turned to me. "You might have to introduce us to this cousin of yours," she said without batting an eye.

Shocked at her forwardness I stumbled over my words, "I – um…I – "

Johanna laughed. "Well, come on. Are you going to show us the ship?"

I smiled. "Follow me."


	3. Chapter 3

**_~Peeta~_**

Supper was horrible. Not the food itself, of course, as we were served ten courses, each one delicious. But the social aspect of supper was horrible. Mother and I were seated with several other rich families of all shapes and sizes. Mother seemed to especially perk up when we met a family with a daughter who is my age. Her name is Madge. I suppose she is pretty and she seems kind enough, but I couldn't find myself attracted to her at all.

Mother had me sit next to Madge. I tried to make conversation with her, but she hardly responded to me. Maybe she is shy. Or maybe she was nervous. I can understand that.

You would never guess that just a few short months ago Mother wasn't even part of the upper class. She fit right in. She proudly spoke of our plans and conveniently omitted our family's previous bakery business. I felt my anger rise upon the realization of just how ashamed of our life Mother really was.

After some time, the men rose from their seats. Madge's father looked at me and asked if I would like to join them for brandy and a smoke. I cast a side glance at Mother who urged me to accept with her eyes. I agreed and found myself in a hazy, dimly lit room. The men, with their fine suits and bulging bellies, began discussing politics, a subject I have never had any interest in. However, I decided to listen and learn as much as I could. With a future in business, I assumed it would not be very productive to be completely ignorant on the subject.

I truly tried to pay attention. I was able to for a little while. But then I found myself thinking about being on the top deck. Feeling the wind in my hair and smelling the salt of the sea. Hearing the waves rushing by as the ship sped toward New York. I couldn't wait any longer.

I begged the gentlemen's pardons, claiming I was feeling ill. That seemed to be a believable excuse. Seasickness is fairly common. The gentlemen all nodded their heads at me and wished me to feel better as I made my way to the top deck.

Once I was on the top deck again, I took a deep breath of the salty frigid air, ridding my nose and lungs of the cigar smoke and smell of brandy. I made my way to the stern where I had seen that beautiful woman earlier. A small part of me hoped she would be there, but I knew it was very unlikely.

When I reached the back of the ship, I purposefully leaned over the railing. It was a rather pathetic way to spite my Mother, but I felt some satisfaction nonetheless.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I heard a voice behind me say. I jumped back from the railing and spun around.

Madge stood there in her sparkling light blue dress. The color brought out her eyes. She smiled at me shyly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were here," I said, wondering how she snuck up so quietly in those heels.

"You must have been caught up in the beauty," she replied as she joined me next to the railing.

The moon shone overhead and reflected on the black surface of the water.

"So what excuse did you give to get away?" she asked with a slight smirk.

I chuckled. "Seasick."

She nodded. "Me too." She paused for a moment, then turned to look at me. "I just really hate it sometimes."

"Hate what?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in curiosity.

"That every day for the rest of my life is planned out for me. That every day is the same. Expectations are forced upon us and, Heaven forbid, if we ever break them. Do you ever think about just running away from it all?"

Her words shocked me. Not because I was appalled, but because they mirrored my own feelings so perfectly. I didn't hesitate before I answered, "Every day."

She smiled and looked back to the ocean. "I know what our parents are planning for us."

I felt my cheeks burn. "Yes, my Mother wasn't exactly subtle about it."

She laughed softly. "Maybe we can't break away from the path of our lives, but maybe we can make it more interesting," she said with a slight smirk.

"What do you mean?" I asked, leaning over the railing closer to her. I was interested in her plan.

"We will get married. Soon probably. This will make our parents happy. But we could cause all kinds of trouble."

"Go on…" I urged her.

"We could pretend to be madly in love with each other. Sneak around, say some improper things at dinner, cause some ruckus on the ship. Defy their expectations. But we're still doing what they ultimately want, so they can't harm us."

I was quickly beginning to like this woman. Her plan was the most hopeful thing I had heard for my future in months. And who knows? Maybe I _will _fall madly in love with her…

**_~Katniss~_**

I led Johanna and Annie up to the top deck. To me, it was the most exciting part of the ship so I decided to show it to them last. I wasn't disappointed by their reactions.

Even Johanna's mouth fell open as she saw the millions of stars twinkling above and saw the moon reflect in the ocean's waters.

"Wow…" Annie breathed, gazing at the sky. "This reminds me of home."

"Where are you from?" I asked.

Annie looked at me with soft green eyes. "Just a small seaside town."

"Let's go to the back of the ship," Johanna suddenly said running toward the stern.

Annie and I raced after her, laughing. But as the stern came into view, Johanna abruptly stopped, Annie and I nearly running into her.

"What –" I began but Johanna put her finger to her lips and pulled us to the side.

"Look," Johanna whispered, pointing toward the stern.

A man and a woman stood against the railing of the stern, talking quietly. Both had golden blonde hair and were dressed nicely. They must be from the upper class. I felt uncomfortable spying on the couple.

"Let's just go somewhere else," I protested.

As we continued our stroll around the deck, I found myself face-to-face with Gale, who was followed by another man.

"Hey, Catnip!" Gale called out. "Who are your friends?"

"This is Annie and – "

"Johanna," Johanna interrupted, sticking out her hand for Gale to shake.

"Nice to meet you, ladies," Gale said in a polite tone that surprised me. "I'm Gale. And this is my roommate, Finnick."

Finnick, who must have been just a couple of years older than Gale was shockingly handsome. Bronze hair, tan skin, bright green eyes, and quite a charming smile accented by dimples. Even I found myself blushing as he took each of our hands and bowed politely.

"What are you fine ladies doing out in the chilly night?" Finnick asked in a voice as smooth as silk.

"Katniss wanted to show it to us. She said it was beautiful up here," Annie said quietly.

"It is _very _beautiful," Finnick agreed, looking directly into Annie's eyes.

Annie blushed and averted her gaze.

"Finnick and I were just about to head to the General Room," Gale stated, completely oblivious to the exchange between Finnick and Annie. "We heard there will be music and dancing."

"That sounds like trouble," Johanna said with a smirk.

"I don't know much about it. But it sounds interesting to me," Gale replied. "What do you say? Come with us?"

Johanna, Annie, and I looked at each other and smiled. We were on the ship of dreams, we had to indulge in a little fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**_~Peeta~_**

After I escorted Madge back to her suite, I went back to mine, which was just down the hall. Upon entering, I discovered Mother on the sofa of the sitting room. She turned to me after I greeted her. The look on her face was unreadable.

"Where have you been?" she asked calmly.

"Just strolling on the top deck. I needed some fresh air," I replied, running a nervous hand through my hair. I really wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

"Oh? By yourself?" I realized my mother was feigning ignorance. Someone must have seen Madge and me and told her. Madge. Suddenly, I remembered her idea.

"No, I was with Madge. We were trying to see how far we could lean over the back of the ship."

Mother's facial expression changed so quickly it was laughable. Upon hearing that I had been with Madge, she was pleased, but talking about something so beneath us such as leaning over the back of the ship was disdainful. At least to her.

Of course, Madge and I didn't actually lean over the back of the ship. We just leaned on the railing and talked. But then both of us began to shiver from the frigid air and we decided to retire for the evening.

"Well, goodnight, Mother," I hurriedly gave her a kiss on the cheek, walked to my bedroom, and quickly shut the door behind me before she could say anything.

I allowed myself a small smile as I breathed a sigh of relief. Mother's hands were really tied on this. Even though she thought I was participating in childish behavior, I was still spending time with Madge like she wanted. And without me, her future would be in ruins as well. So really there was nothing she could do besides pout. I felt a small measure of satisfaction.

I began to remove my clothes, and didn't realize until I was fully nude that Mother had followed me into my room.

She coughed behind me in the doorway and I jumped, startled, as I quickly reached for my nightshirt and pulled it over my head.

I felt my cheeks burning as I said, "Mother, I didn't realize you were in here."

But it seemed that she didn't even notice she had walked in on me completely naked. Her eyes revealed that she was intent on something.

"What is it, Mother?" I asked, trying to remain patient and calm.

"I was curious as to why you felt the need to lean over the railing of the ship?" Mother asked with a cold look in her eyes.

Baffled, I struggled to answer her question. "I…We…It just seemed like something fun to do."

"Hmmm…" Mother looked me up and down as if she was seeing how likely I was to defy her. "You are a man now, Peeta. Enough of these childish games. Your brothers have deserted us. It is just you and I left to make a name for ourselves. You wouldn't want your father's name to be tarnished because you were playing silly games, would you?"

My first reaction was to become angry and disgusted with the way she talked about my brothers. But the look she gave me after her question – those large blue eyes that began to shine with tears, broke my will.

I could almost feel the burden of my future being more heavily placed on my shoulders.

"No, Mother," I replied softly.

"Good," she smiled smugly. She had won. "Why don't you take a bath before you go to bed? I'll have the maids fill the tub for you."

With that, she left. Already, Madge's plan had failed. I don't know why I allowed Mother to have such control over me, but she knew _how _to control me. She was right – I didn't want the Mellark name, my father's name, to be tarnished because of me.

I pulled on my robe as I walked out to the bathroom where the hot water was waiting in the tub.

I stripped off the robe and my nightshirt and lowered myself into the steaming water. The water seemed to melt the stress right off of me, so I relaxed deeper into it.

It smelled as if the maids had added some kind of scent to it as well. I allowed myself a few minutes to soak in the warm water before I washed myself, dried off, pulled my nightshirt and robe back on, and left the washing room.

Mother was just leaving the sitting room as I walked out.

"Goodnight, darling. I expect you to be up early tomorrow for our breakfast."

After I had gone back into my room and closed the door behind me, I realized the maids must have prepared my bed for sleeping. The sheets were pulled down, the pillows were fluffed up and arranged in a comfortable-looking way. I rubbed one of the sheets between my fingers. It was incredibly soft.

I stripped off my robe and nightshirt again, deciding to sleep naked. Mother would hate it. It seemed the only way I could defy her.

**_~Katniss~_**

The General Room was hazy with smoke and smelled of beer and sweat. I immediately liked it. People were laughing, dancing, drinking, and I saw more than one couple kissing as they snuck away. The joy in the room was tangible. It was impossible not to get swept up in it.

A group of men were playing an upbeat song with various instruments in the corner while couples twirled and jumped on the makeshift dance floor. As the song ended, everyone cheered and called out for another.

When the next song began to play, Gale grabbed me and pulled me toward the dance floor. I laughed and let myself go as the lively music seemed to weave its way through my body and into my heart. I wholeheartedly laughed as Gale attempted to dance next to me. He nudged me with a smile when he saw me laughing.

I glanced back over to where Finnick and Annie were standing. From what I could see, it looked like Finnick was attempting to get Annie to dance with him, but she seemed rather shy. I nodded at her enthusiastically, and finally Annie relented, allowing Finnick to gently take her hand and guide her to the dance floor.

I looked around until I saw Johanna dancing happily with an unknown man. Both looked to be having fun, so I only smiled at them.

My heart felt full. I could never thank Gale enough for secretly buying our way onto the _Titanic_. It was the greatest gift I could have ever received. I looked back to him as he still tried to dance. Sweat was beginning to form on his brow, but he smiled so widely that it clearly wasn't work to him at all.

We all danced, laughed, and drank well into the night. I enjoyed a couple of beers, the cool liquid refreshing and invigorating. I had probably lost several pounds in sweat, but I was having too much fun to stop.

Eventually, the music died down and the people in the room began to retire to their rooms in steerage. I was mildly disappointed that the fun was over, but was looking forward to my first night sleeping on the bed that awaited me in my room.

As we left the General Room, I hugged Gale tightly.

"Thank you, Gale," I said quietly.

"For what?" he asked, pulling away.

"For this," I replied, gesturing to the space around me. "For making this happen."

He smiled warmly. "Sometimes I know what you need better than you do."

I smiled back at him.

"Goodnight, Catnip. I'll see you at breakfast."

"Goodnight."

Finnick was saying something quietly to Annie, then kissed her cheek gently and turned to Johanna and me.

"Goodnight, ladies," he said, bowing slightly. "I expect I will see you again."

Johanna and I both bid him goodnight as he walked away with Gale.

Johanna yawned. "Well, we better head to bed if we want to actually make it to breakfast in the morning."

"You two go ahead," I said. "I'm going to get some fresh air. I'll be back soon."

As they both bid me goodnight, I made my way up to the top deck. I had to see the stars one more time before they faded for the dawn.

* * *

><p><strong><em>If you're getting impatient for Katniss and Peeta to meet - don't worry, it's going to happen VERY soon :)<em>**


	5. Chapter 5

**_~Peeta~_**

I don't know why I woke up in the middle of the night. Maybe because my dreams were plagued with the darkness of my future. I laid there for a while, hoping sleep would find me again, but it never did.

I threw the covers back and slid out of bed, searching for my clothes in the dark. Once I was dressed, I snuck out of my room and out of the suite. I thought about exploring the ship since I hadn't seen most of it yet, but the image of the stars and the moon reflecting on the ocean waters pulled me to the top deck once again.

As the stern came into view, my breath caught in my throat. Was I dreaming? I blinked. No, she was really there. The beautiful woman I had seen earlier in the day. She was leaning on her elbows on the railing looking out over the water. She still wore that faded green dress, but her hair must have come loose of its braid and flowed behind her as the wind tugged at it.

I watched her for several minutes until I realized what I was doing would be considered inappropriate. I briefly considered returning below-deck, but how could I pass up such an opportunity? I had to talk to her. Even if she dismissed me with a disgusted look on her face, at least I tried.

I tentatively approached her and coughed quietly so that I wouldn't scare her. Nonetheless, she jumped slightly and spun around, her eyes narrowed.

"Um, pardon me, miss," I said, quickly looking down at her left hand to make sure she wasn't wearing a wedding ring. "I just noticed that you were here alone and…well, I was wondering if I could join you?"

She didn't respond right away. I immediately felt stupid for being so blunt. She probably thought I was some arrogant rich man.

When she responded it was merely a shrug. She turned back around and leaned back onto the railing. I cautiously walked up next to her and gazed up at the stars. They stole my breath almost as much as this beautiful woman did.

I quickly glanced her way to read her facial expression. She was still scowling. I searched for something to say: "It's really beautiful out here, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied quietly.

My heart leaped.

"It's hard to stay away from such a beautiful sight. I came up here earlier."

She cast me a side-glance. "Me too."

There was silence for a few moments until I thought of something else to say: "Have you ever been on a ship before?"

"No."

Her clipped answers were beginning to tear down what little confidence I had to begin with.

"Have you?" she asked, surprising me.

"No," I replied, looking back out toward the ocean. "But I don't think I will be able to stay away from one for long after this voyage."

She sharply turned her head toward me and said bitingly, "It must be nice to have that kind of money."

My face fell. Why did I say that? Of course, she would think I was boasting about my wealth. I sputtered, "I-I…No, I didn't mean that. I just meant – "

She turned away from me, clearly not willing to listen to my explanation. But I didn't want her to dismiss me based on a negative assumption she was making.

"It's not like that. I'm not like that," I said hurriedly. "If I could give up what money I have to be rid of my mother, I would. Trust me."

She turned back to me. She was still scowling, but in her eyes I could see genuine curiosity as well.

"Why would you say that?" she said evenly. "About your mother?"

I laughed bitterly. "If you knew my mother, you would want to get away too."

Her eyes narrowed.

I sighed. "She controls every aspect of my life. I have no freedom. She has my whole future planned out, from what I'm going to do, what I will be, and even who I will marry!" I exclaimed exasperatedly.

"So why do you let her control you?"

She hit the root of the matter with that question. I didn't even know this woman's name and I was spilling things about my personal life to her. I was suddenly embarrassed. I could feel my cheeks flushing.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said anything," I said as I began to back away from her. "I didn't mean to disturb your lovely evening with my sob stories. I'll leave you."

I turned away quickly and began to leave when she suddenly spoke up, "If you're unhappy with your life, then don't let her control you. No one should be given the power to steal your happiness from you."

I turned back toward her. "It's not that simple," I started.

"It is," she insisted. "_Trust me_."

I considered her for a moment. Her gaze locked on mine. Even though her face was still slightly scowling, her eyes revealed sympathy. Did she feel sorry for me? I didn't want her pity. Yet I began to realize that what she had just said was what I needed. She was right. If I was unhappy, then I needed to break away from Mother and not let her control my life anymore.

"You're right," I began. "You're right. I want to make things different. Thank you, miss. No one has been that blunt with me before."

"Katniss," she responded.

"Pardon?"

"My name is Katniss," she smiled softly at me. I thought my heart would explode.

"I'm Peeta." I grinned back at her and offered my hand. She cautiously took it and we shook. I felt like my hand was on fire as I lowered it.

"I should probably be going," she said softly.

I nodded. As she walked away I called out after her, "Will I see you again, Katniss?"

She glanced back at me over her shoulder and smiled, "It's a ship. There are only so many places I could be."

**_~Katniss~_**

I felt my cheeks flushing as I hurried away from Peeta. Why had I said that? Now he probably thinks I'm some loose woman. I'm probably as far away from loose as one could get.

After I had reached my cabin in steerage, changed into my old nightgown, and snuggled into the comfortable, cozy bed on the bottom bunk, I let my mind wander again to my meeting with Peeta.

Would he actually look for me? What if he didn't? I actually felt a pang of regret at that thought. Why did I care? He was just some young rich man who would probably be embarrassed to be seen with me. I pushed him out of my mind and turned onto my side. Sleep came quickly.

**APRIL 11, 1912**

The next morning, as Annie, Johanna, Gale, Finnick, and I sat down to breakfast in one of the Dining Saloons, we discussed what we wanted to do on the ship that day. Gale and Finnick believed there was more to explore, so we decided we could do that.

My thoughts briefly drifted to Peeta. Would he look for me? If I was exploring the ship, would that make it harder for him to find me? Disgusted with myself, I pushed the thoughts away.

After breakfast, the five of us decided to stroll along the top deck before exploring the rest of the ship. It seemed that a lot of other people had had the same idea. It was refreshing in the open air, though.

After we had walked for an hour or so, I suddenly found myself gazing into a pair of familiar blue eyes. It was him. Peeta. I was about to smile at him when I realized who he was with. I could only assume it was his mother. She was middle-aged with graying blonde hair and the same blue eyes that her son possessed.

I suddenly realized she was staring at me. I thought the attitude of the upper class couldn't shock me anymore, but Peeta's mother was looking at me with such hatred and disdain that it took me aback. It was not hard to believe what Peeta had told me about her last night.

My smile melted off my face as she looked from me to Peeta. How had she picked up on that connection? I caught myself. There was no connection. He was just some rich man I had talked to one time. Once I got off the _Titanic_, I would never see him or talk to him again.

That pang of regret hit me again.

"Catnip?" Gale suddenly nudged me. "You alright?" He looked from me to Peeta and his mother and narrowed his eyes. "Do you know them?"

"No," I said quickly. "That woman was just staring at me."

Johanna scoffed. "Get used to it."

Gale put his arm across my shoulders protectively. As we walked past Peeta and his mother I quickly glanced up at him. He was frowning and looked hurt. I scowled at him. He was acting like he didn't even know me, how could he be upset with _me_?

After we had walked past them, however, it suddenly hit me why Peeta was looking at me like that. He was jealous. He thought Gale and I were together. I actually thought I might laugh out loud. Gale was my cousin, practically my brother. The idea that we could be a couple was laughable. But Peeta didn't know that. How could he? I felt guilty for scowling at him.

I made up my mind that I needed to see him again. It went against all my instinct. I should just stay away from him. We were from completely different classes. But the idea of not seeing him again kept bringing that pang of regret. I had to find him. I _wanted _to find him.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Things are really getting interesting now! <em>**

**_By the way, I'm sorry if it bothers you that Katniss is slightly out of character. Her situation is different in this story (obviously) so I figured her personality might be different as well. But I tried to stay as true to some aspects of her character as I could. I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story._**


	6. Chapter 6

**_~Peeta~_**

After seeing Katniss again on the top deck, the image of her scowling so harshly stayed with me. I was frustrated with myself for not speaking to her, but I couldn't determine if that's why she scowled at me or if it was her way of telling me to leave her alone. I felt sick.

After she had left the top deck last night, I also left to go to my own quarters. I hardly slept for the thoughts of her that kept swirling around in my mind. Images of her that started out pure, like her smiling and the way her hair framed her face, eventually turned into lustful fantasies of kissing her and more that made my manhood react. I pushed the thoughts away though, feeling that I was somehow violating her privacy for thinking of her in that way.

Needless to say, I was quite tired this morning. Unfortunately, Mother noticed. She remarked on my haggard appearance after Katniss and the others who accompanied her had passed us by.

"Why are you so tired, darling?" Mother asked, feigning concern.

"I just didn't sleep well. You know, with being on a ship and all," I responded, shrugging.

"Is that why you left the suite after we said goodnight?" Mother cast me a side-glance.

I could feel the color drain from my face. How could she know _that_? Was she constantly watching me? I shivered.

"I just needed some fresh air," I responded, trying to sound nonchalant.

Mother looked as if she did not believe me, but she didn't say anything else. I quickly changed the subject.

"Breakfast was nice this morning."

"Indeed," she said calmly. "It will soon be dinner though." Just then the bugle sounded. "There's the bugle now. We should be on our way."

I silently led my mother to the Grand Staircase which led us down to the Reception Room. Other upper-class families had already gathered, and some gentlemen were sipping on cocktails. One in particular caught my attention. He was probably in his early forties with long dirty blonde hair. But what caught my attention was his disheveled clothing which I quickly realized must be due to his intoxication.

He was quickly drinking cocktail after cocktail and was even able to sneak some straight white liquor when the bartender turned his back. It was obvious that others were disgusted by this man but I found it slightly amusing the way he slurred his words and stumbled about.

Finally, the Dining Saloon doors opened. Mother and I found our seats, along with Madge and her family, and some others who had sat with us the night before. Madge sat down next to me again. Knowing that her plan probably wouldn't work since Mother had scolded me the night before, I began to feel the fingers of dread at facing another bleak meal. But suddenly the drunk man seated himself at our table, directly across from me.

Mother and some of the other women were clearly appalled by his presence and probably his smell as well, while I came to the conclusion that I definitely wanted to be a part of supper now.

The man whistled as he looked at the two women beside him. "Well, am I the luckiest bastard on this boat or what? Finding myself next to you fine ladies." He snickered at himself.

I stifled a laugh, but the two women he was referring to looked at each other with faces of disgust.

"Here I was preparing for another lonely day on this damn boat, when I stumble upon you fine folks," the man gestured to the people at our table.

"You are too kind, sir," said Madge's father, looking uncomfortable. "Begging your pardon, but I do not think I have made your acquaintance."

"Haymitch Abernathy," the man said, stumbling to his feet and performing quite a wobbly bow.

Everyone begrudgingly expressed their pleasure in meeting him and began to introduce themselves. When it became Mother's turn, she introduced herself, then said somewhat proudly, "This is my son, Peeta. He is going to attend the university in New York"

"Well aren't you just a fine young man?" Mr. Abernathy remarked. Maybe I imagined the condescending tone, but it seemed that he was mocking me. I wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"Um – thank you, Mr. Abernathy."

"And who is this pretty lady next you?" he gestured at Madge.

Madge's father, who sat on the other side of her, spoke up. "This is my daughter, Madge."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Abernathy," Madge said quietly.

"Well, well, won't you two make the perfect couple? You two will have some beautiful children with that golden hair and those blue eyes," Mr. Abernathy cackled to himself, seeing Madge and I blush. "What? Didn't think I picked up on your parents' scheme to get you two married?" he laughed again.

I quickly glanced at Madge, noticing her scowl. I was mildly surprised that she seemed to be angry with this man. Just the night before she had suggested to me that we make some improper comments at dinner. This seemed to be exactly what she was referring to. I supposed it was different when you were making the joke yourself.

The rest of dinner was surprisingly calm. While Mr. Abernathy continued to be crude, everyone handled it with grace.

Finally, when dinner had ended, Madge's father asked if Mr. Abernathy and I would like to join them for a tour of the ship. Both of us agreed and were led out to the top deck once again where we were greeted by some crew members, Captain Smith, and the _Titanic_'s chief designer, Thomas Andrews.

Even though I wasn't thrilled about this voyage, to meet the captain and the designer of such a beautiful and magnificent ship was truly an honor. The captain could not stay with us long, as he had other duties, of course. But Mr. Andrews was very amicable and clearly enjoyed talking about his fantastic achievement. He answered our questions about the process of designing a ship and where he drew inspiration from.

As we walked by a row of lifeboats, Mr. Abernathy asked, "How many lifeboats are there?"

"There are twenty lifeboats altogether, Mr. Abernathy," Mr. Andrews replied.

"Twenty? How many can each hold?" Mr. Abernathy questioned.

"Most of them can hold about 60 men."

Mr. Abernathy furrowed his brow. "And how many people are on the ship?"

"About 2,200," Mr. Andrews responded quietly, looking irritated.

"So there are only enough lifeboats for half of the people on board?"

Before Mr. Andrews could respond, one of the other gentlemen who had accompanied us said loudly, "Oh, what does it matter? This ship is unsinkable! God himself could not sink this ship!"

The other gentlemen bellowed their agreement, but I noticed that Mr. Andrews did not respond.

The tour went on for most of the afternoon, so we missed tea, which suited me fine. The less time I had to spend with Mother the better.

We were showed the gymnasium, the heated pool, the squash court, some first-class cafes, the Reading and Writing Room, a few lounges, and the Turkish Bath. I was definitely impressed. It was incredible that all of this could float.

As we made our way back to the top deck, Mr. Abernathy walked next to me. "Pretty amazing, huh, kid?"

"It is indeed," I responded quietly. "The lifeboats really seemed to concern you, though."

Mr. Abernathy nodded somberly. "It never hurts to be prepared, kid. Maybe God can't sink this ship, but other things can."

"Like what other things?"

Just then the bugler signaled for supper. Mr. Abernathy didn't answer my question. Instead he exclaimed, "Finally! I'm famished!"

I followed the gentlemen to the lifts and rode them to D-Deck. Mother approached me as soon as I entered the Reception Room.

"Darling, how was the tour?" she said warmly.

"Fascinating," I replied, genuinely. "How was _your_ afternoon, Mother?"

"Wonderful! Just wonderful!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I've spent all afternoon with Madge. She is just the perfect match for you, dear."

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. But at the thought of Madge being the perfect match for me, I remembered Katniss. Katniss and what she told me last night: to not let anyone have the power to steal my happiness. Including Mother.

Mother looked at me curiously as I internally debated myself. Just as I had mustered up the courage to tell her that I didn't want to marry Madge, Madge herself approached us.

"Hello, Peeta," she greeted me quietly.

"Hello, Madge," I replied, gently taking her hand and kissing it.

Madge was a completely different person here than she was last night. I wondered why she hadn't tried any of her tricks yet. But as I looked into her eyes I saw something there – sadness. I frowned, wondering what was wrong. I would have to try to talk to her tonight.

Supper dragged on, but Mr. Abernathy joined us again. He was much more sober than he had been earlier in the day and I wondered if that had anything to do with the lifeboat situation.

After the meal, Mr. Abernathy and I were asked to join the rest of the gentlemen in the Smoking Room. I dreaded listening to politics again, but secretly hoped that Mr. Abernathy would indulge in the brandy and provide some entertainment.

Unfortunately, even after about an hour of the gentlemen droning on about politics, Mr. Abernathy had yet to touch a glass of brandy. But suddenly he leaned toward me and whispered, "How would you like to have some real fun tonight?"

Baffled by his question, I turned toward him. "What do you mean?"

He smiled. "Come on."

I was slightly nervous about what Mr. Abernathy was getting me into, but at this point anything seemed better than listening to monotone conversations about politics.

Mr. Abernathy stood up and I followed. "Gentlemen, please excuse us, but we have a previous engagement to attend to," Mr. Abernathy said politely.

The gentlemen hardly seemed to care as they bid us goodnight.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I tried to keep up with Mr. Abernathy.

"I told you, to have some real fun," he replied without even looking back at me.

"Mr. Abernathy – " I began.

"Call me Haymitch."

"Oh, alright," I coughed. "Haymitch, can you please just tell me _something_? I'm not really the adventurous type."

Haymitch barked out a laugh. "I know, kid. That's why I'm taking you to a party."

**_~Katniss~_**

I didn't see Peeta the rest of the day. I hid my disappointment from my friends, which wasn't hard since they were enamored by the beauty of the ship. We were quite limited on where we could go since we were of the lower class, but there was still plenty to discover.

After we were satisfied with what we had seen of the ship, we spent our time in the General Room playing cards until the bugle sounded for supper. We made our way to the Dining Saloon and enjoyed a simple but filling meal. Even though I was sure the upper classes enjoyed much finer and much more food than we did, I was content. It was more than what Gale and I had been living on the last few months.

I noticed Finnick sitting particularly close to Annie. He had been sweet-talking her all day. I had to admit he was very charming. I was skeptical of him at first, as I had never met someone so forward with their desires, but he was so sweet and gentle with Annie that I began to find him endearing.

As soon as we finished eating we left the Dining Saloon. There wasn't enough room for all of the third-class passengers to eat at the same time, so we tried to be courteous by eating quickly and letting others have our seats.

"Will there be more dancing tonight?" Johanna asked mischievously.

"I'm not sure," Gale replied.

"Well let's go to the General Room and see," Johanna insisted.

We made our way to the General Room to find that there was indeed dancing. Irish music was being played tonight, I assumed by Irishmen that the ship had picked up today when it had docked in Queenstown, Ireland.

The music was even more invigorating and lively than it had been the night before. We wasted no time in joining those already dancing.

We had been dancing for a while when I looked over and saw two blonde men enter the room. I didn't recognize the first one, but my eyes widened as I recognized the second.

Peeta.

How did he know to come here? And who was the man with him? I thought about approaching him but suddenly felt nervous. What if he hated me after what had happened earlier?

But he looked so intimidated by everything going on around him that I felt sorry for him. I tried to make my way over to him, but was having difficult navigating through the dancing people.

I stood on my tip toes and craned my neck to look for him but I couldn't see him anywhere. I pushed my way through faster, hoping that he hadn't left when suddenly I stumbled right into him.

"Katniss!" he cried, surprised.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the dancing people. He didn't resist.

"I'm sorry," we said simultaneously.

We both laughed and I looked down. "You first," I said.

"I'm sorry I didn't greet you today. I just – "

"Hey, Catnip!" Gale suddenly called, breaking through the crowd and walking up to us.

"Hey, Gale," I greeted him softly.

Gale's eyes narrowed when he saw Peeta standing there in his fine suit.

I quickly spoke before Gale could say anything rude: "Gale, this is Peeta. I met him last night when I was on the top deck."

Gale looked at me for a moment but saw the pleading look in my eyes and his face softened. "Gale Hawthorne," he said, sticking out his hand.

Peeta took it tentatively. "Peeta Mellark."

Suddenly, Gale looked over Peeta's shoulder and his eyes widened. Peeta turned around to see what had caught Gale's eye.

It was a girl, probably about my age, with big blue eyes and long blonde hair that hung in ringlets. She was wearing a red dress with sequins that created an intricate pattern on the skirt.

"Madge?" I heard Peeta say. He knew this girl? Out of nowhere, I felt a pang of jealousy.

"Peeta, I'm sorry," Madge sounded like she was out of breath.

"Is everything alright?" Peeta asked taking a couple of steps toward her.

"Yes, yes. I just saw you and Mr. Abernathy leaving and was curious…" she trailed off, sounding guilty.

"Well, well, well. Blondie decided to join the party," a slurring voice cackled.

We all turned to see the man whom Peeta had walked in with earlier.

Madge narrowed her eyes at him and he laughed.

"Well, kid, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends?"

"Oh – um, Haymitch, this is Katniss and Gale," Peeta stumbled over his words.

"Nice to make your acquaintances," Haymitch said, attempting to bow. He looked and smelled like he had found himself some liquor.

Just then the musicians began playing a new song. "Well you all better get out there!" Haymitch hollered giving Peeta a shove.

"Would you – " Peeta started, looking at me.

"I would love to," I stated, smiling. He smiled back.

I glanced over my shoulder as I made my way back to the dance floor to see Gale talking with Madge, who was blushing. I smiled.

As Peeta and I began to dance to the music, his face broke out into such a huge grin that I thought it was like to split his face. My pulse quickened.

We danced for several lively songs, both of us sweaty and panting , but not wanting to stop. Whenever our hands came into contact with each other, I felt fire shoot down my spine.

I looked at Peeta as he danced. His hair that had been combed back earlier now stuck to his forehead which glistened with sweat. His cheeks were flushed and the freckles on his nose seemed more pronounced. He had removed his suit jacket and tie a couple of songs earlier, and had unbuttoned the top few buttons of his white dress shirt, which was now untucked. A few dark chest hairs peeked out of his shirt and I swallowed.

I had never felt this way before. I had never felt this kind of connection with someone before, let alone someone I barely knew. I didn't even know how to explain what I was feeling, but I knew I never wanted the feeling to go away. When I looked into Peeta's eyes, it was like they mirrored exactly what I was feeling.

Finally the music faded and people began filtering out of the warm, hazy room. Peeta and I continued to stand there, catching our breath.

"Do you want to go look at the stars again?" he asked, smiling gently.

I nodded and he held out his hand. I took it and followed him to the top deck.

When we reached the stern we both leaned on the railing and gazed out at the ocean.

The frigid air felt good on my hot, damp skin. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"I'll have to remember to thank Haymitch tomorrow," Peeta said in a lighthearted tone.

"Why is that?" I asked, looking at him.

"Because he brought me to the party. To you."

I smiled gently and looked back out to the ocean. "I'll have to remember to thank him too."

I could hear Peeta swallow next to me. "So – um – Gale…"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Is my cousin."

Peeta let out a breath and laughed softly. "Really?"

"Yes. Practically my brother. We've been through some pretty sad things."

"Sad things?" Peeta asked, scooting closer to me.

I sighed. "We lost both of our families. It was the most difficult thing I'd ever had to endure. But Gale kept me on my feet, and then surprised me by buying tickets for the _Titanic_. He said it was so we could start over."

Peeta didn't say anything for a moment then stated, "I'm so sorry that happened to you, Katniss. But…I'm glad that it led you here." Those deep pools of blue that were his eyes gazed at me so intensely that it took my breath away.

I suddenly found myself leaning toward him. His long eyelashes shone in the moonlight and drooped over his eyes as he looked down at my lips.

And then we were kissing. His warm lips seemed to melt into mine. My bottom lip found its way between his lips and he sucked gently. I found myself drawing closer to him as his hands came up to either side of my face, his thumbs gently brushing my cheeks.

I opened my mouth a little bit and he followed, tentatively pushing his tongue into my mouth. I opened my mouth wider for him, and he tilted his head to one side to deepen the kiss, lowering his arms to my waist to pull me even closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck in return.

We gasped for breath as we searched for new angles and reconnected our mouths over and over again. One of his hands went to the back of my head, tangling itself in my hair that had come loose of its braid from dancing.

I suddenly realized something hard was pressing against my stomach. My instinct was to pull away from him and leave, but I realized I _liked _it. When I pressed myself against him a little more he tore his lips away from mine and exhaled shakily. He stepped back just a little bit to remove his hips from me and leaned his forehead against mine.

We stayed like that for several moments. Just holding each other and catching our breath. The moonlight bathed us in white light and I could hear the swishing of the ocean waters as the ship parted them.

Finally he broke the silence. "Katniss, I –"

"Shh," I urged, pressing my fingers to his lips. "You don't have to say anything."

He let out a breath and pulled his forehead away from mine to look at me. "I really should go…" he said barely above a whisper, his voice tinged with sadness.

I nodded. "Me too."

"Please tell me I'll see you again," his eyes so full of hope and even desperation that I couldn't bear the thought of what they would look like if I told him no.

"Of course," I whispered, placing one last gentle kiss on his lips.

He smiled. "Where will I find you?"

"Right here," I said leaning back onto the railing.

He chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

He waved and started to walk away, but then quickly turned around and kissed me on the lips once more. I laughed.

"See you tomorrow, Peeta," I said as he walked away.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Quick note: In case you didn't know, because it is a little confusing, "dinner" is the meal served at lunch time on the ship<em>**


	7. Chapter 7

**APRIL 12, 1912**

**_~Peeta~_**

When I woke up the next morning, my thoughts went immediately to Katniss and our kiss the night before. A goofy smile spread itself on my face and other parts of my body began to react as well. I forced my thoughts elsewhere as I pushed the covers back and got dressed.

I met Mother out on our private promenade where the maids were setting out breakfast. Mother was already seated and was sipping coffee. The smell of the coffee wafted over to me and I hurriedly took my seat.

"Good morning, Peeta" Mother said icily, peering at me as I poured some cream into my coffee.

I immediately became nervous over her tone. "Good morning, Mother," I replied, bringing the steaming mug of coffee to my lips and taking a long sip. The strong, hot liquid felt good going down my throat.

"Where did you disappear to last night?"

I gulped. "I just went to the top deck again. I like it up there."

Mother looked at me for a moment, the look in her eyes making me gulp again. "Really? I went up there myself after supper and did not see you."

"Well, it's a large ship, Mother. We must have been on different parts of the deck." I was surprised at how steady my voice was.

Before Mother could respond, the maids brought us plates of fried eggs, grilled sausage, toast, marmalade, honey, and fresh fruit. My stomach audibly growled which only seemed to irritate Mother further.

We ate our breakfast in silence, the only noise was the sound of our silverware clinking against the plates. I tried to finish quickly, eager to see Katniss again, but trying not appear suspicious.

After I had finished, I excused myself, claiming that the gentlemen had asked me to join them in playing cards. Mother did not respond, but I kissed her cheek and left before she could refuse me.

I quickly dressed myself and washed up before hurrying out of the suite and to the top deck. The sun was shining and the ocean waters were a brilliant blue, reflecting the clear sky. The weather seemed to be reflecting my mood.

As I approached the stern, my heart began to pound. I desperately hoped she would be there. She had to be. She told me she would be.

And she was.

She leaned on her elbows over the railing, looking out over the ocean. She was wearing a brown dress that complemented her olive skin and dark hair, which was braided down her back. Finally, I approached her.

She turned around at the sound of my footsteps and her eyes lit up when they met mine.

"Good morning," I greeted her, taking her hand and leaving a lingering kiss on the back of it.

"Good morning," she greeted in return. "You seem rather cheerful this morning. Why is that?" she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Well, I may have kissed the most beautiful woman in the world last night," I smirked proudly.

Katniss's face fell slightly. "I'm not beautiful," she said barely above a whisper.

"Of course you are," I replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Not like that girl that followed you last night."

Madge? Was Katniss jealous?

"Madge? No, she doesn't even compare to you," I replied kissing her cheek lightly.

"How do you know her?" Katniss asked, looking up at me with stormy silver eyes.

"She and her family sit at our table in the Dining Saloon." I decided not to tell her mine and Madge's parents expected us to get married. It didn't matter anyway because I wasn't going to marry Madge. I couldn't.

Katniss seemed to accept my answer and gazed out at the ocean. "What should we do today?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

I thought back to the tour I had of the ship yesterday and got an idea. "Come on," I said excitedly as I grabbed Katniss's hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked as I pulled her along.

"It's a surprise."

I led her back to my suite and paused at the door.

"Is this your suite?" Katniss asked, her eyes wide.

I nodded, listening at the door.

"Isn't your mother here?"

"No, I don't think so." I replied, not hearing anything from inside. "She probably met with some other rich women."

I led her into the suite and shut the door behind us. Katniss gawked at the luxury surrounding her.

"Wait here," I said as I went into Mother's room and began to quickly but carefully rummage through her clothing.

I emerged from her room a couple of minutes later with what I was looking for. I held it up for Katniss to see. I hoped it would fit her. Mother was petite like Katniss so I assumed it would.

Katniss narrowed her eyes. "A bathing suit?"

I nodded eagerly.

Katniss seemed hesitant. "Where would we go swimming?"

"In the swimming pool, of course. Did you think I would make you jump into the ocean?" I laughed, but Katniss didn't seem amused.

"But isn't the swimming pool reserved for the upper class?"

"How will they be able to tell the difference? Especially if you're wearing an upper-class woman's bathing suit." I held out the suit to her.

She reluctantly took it, holding it as if it would come to life and bite her.

"What about you?" she asked.

In response I went into my own room and retrieved my own suit. I held it up for her to see when I came back out of my room.

"Let's go," I said as I grabbed her hand again and led her out of the suite.

As we approached the changing rooms for the swimming pool, I noticed some crew workers standing nearby. I assumed they were stationed there to keep out the lower-class. I looked at Katniss who seemed to have picked up on this.

"See, Peeta, I won't be able to go in there," she said quietly, her voice tinged with disappointment.

I watched the crew workers for a moment then had an idea. "Alright, I'm going to distract them and you sneak your way into the women's changing room."

"Peeta –" she started to protest but I interrupted her.

"Come on, Katniss, don't you want to have fun on this voyage?"

She sighed and then got a determined look in her eyes. "Alright."

I walked up to the couple of crew workers and greeted them. They both stood up straight and greeted me back.

"I have a question for you gentlemen," I began, standing in a way that forced them to look at me.

My eyes quickly darted to Katniss, who began to quickly sneak toward the changing room. I made up some ridiculous question, not really pay attention to the crew workers' responses as I subtly watched Katniss disappear into the changing room.

"Thank you for your help, gentlemen," I said kindly and entered the men's changing room.

I had never worn a bathing suit before as I had never had a need to. But when Mother heard there would be a heated pool on the ship she bought one for each of us. It felt awkward and probably looked awkward too, but my excitement to spend time with Katniss outweighed my feelings toward my appearance and comfort.

I made my way to the pool, finding that it was vacant. I waited for a few minutes, leaning against the wall until finally Katniss walked out.

The black bathing suit fit her better than I had expected. It went down to the tops of her knees and bared her arms and a small part of her chest. She blushed when she saw me staring at her.

"Well, are we going to swim or not?" she asked trying to sound exasperated, but I could hear the smile in her tone.

I sighed dramatically. "I guess," I replied, as I made quite a show of running toward the pool and jumping into it.

I broke through the surface, my hair and face dripping and looked over at Katniss who stood rooted to the floor.

"Come on! It feels wonderful!" I called to her.

She tentatively took a step forward, then another until she was at the edge of the pool. She touched the surface of the water with one toe, then another.

I swam over to her. As she bent down to feel the water with her hand I exclaimed, "You're taking too long!" And pulled her down into the water.

She squealed as she plunged into the water. I laughed as she struggled against me and broke through the surface, her hair sticking to her face in various places.

"Peeta!" she cried.

I laughed and grabbed her again, dragging her out to the middle of the pool as she squirmed against me. The fact that her backside was pushed against my hip threatened to cause an embarrassing situation for me in the tight bathing suit. I kept my hips away from her and willed myself to calm down.

I let her go and she playfully splashed me. I splashed her back which started a war of more splashing and trying to wrestle with each other. Her squeals of delight made me giddy.

We played and laughed for a while, and no one else joined us in the pool. I considered myself lucky.

After a while, she moved to the side of the pool and pulled herself up to sit on the edge, catching her breath. I swam over to her and stayed in the water below her, looking up into her lit-up eyes.

She shook her head. "You're going to get me into trouble."

I laughed. "But isn't this worth it?"

She smiled softly. "It is."

She rubbed the material of her bathing suit between her fingers. "Peeta, I never asked you: where is the rest of your family?"

I sighed. This wasn't exactly what I wanted to talk about at the moment, but she had told me about hers so I supposed it was only fair to tell her about mine.

"Well, my father died just a few months ago," I began quietly.

"Peeta, I'm so sorry." Her silver eyes portrayed sympathy.

"I miss him terribly," I continued. "And my brothers."

"What happened to them?" she asked cautiously.

"My mother wanted to come to the United States and they didn't want to. They wanted to stay away from her. I can't really blame them."

"Why did _you_ come with your mother?"

"I didn't really have a choice. I had no money, nowhere to go, nothing. She told me that I would be making the Mellark name a well-known and respected name by going to college and becoming an upstanding businessman."

Katniss narrowed her eyes. "Is that what you really want?"

"No," I said, averting my gaze from hers. "But what choice did I have?"

"I'm sorry, Peeta. Truly," she began. "But…I'm glad that it led you here," she said, echoing my words to her from the night before.

I smiled softly and took her hand in mine, kissing it gently. She smiled back at me, then squealed again as I pulled her back into the pool.

I tried to wrestle with her again until she squirmed so much that we ended up face-to-face, our bodies flush against each other.

She looked up into my eyes and I swear I saw hers smolder. Before I knew what was happening, she had her hand behind my head and was pulling me down to her. Our lips locked in a passionate frenzy and I felt myself harden immediately. I tried to pull my hips away, but she wrapped her arms around my waist and kept me in place.

I pulled my lips away from hers and kissed and licked my way down her jaw, her neck, to her collar bone. She whimpered quietly which only spurred me on. The warmth of the water and the way it dripped off her chin and ran down her neck only sent me further into a frenzy.

My hands constantly moved on her back, gripping her shoulders, running my fingers down her spine, until they found their way into her hair. Her hands found their way into my hair as well and I locked lips with her again. My mouth opening for her tongue and hers for mine.

Suddenly I heard a cackling laugh behind me. Katniss and I jumped apart. I spun around to see who was laughing at us, desperately hoping my body would calm down, and fast.

It was none other than Haymitch, standing by the pool, laughing his head off. I blushed deeply and I'm sure Katniss did as well.

"Haymitch!" I barked at him. "What are you doing here?"

Haymitch took several seconds to catch his breath enough to respond. "In case you had forgotten, this isn't just your pool."

I groaned in frustration. I made my way to the side of the pool and pulled myself out, helping Katniss out behind me. We both hurried into our separate changing rooms, leaving Haymitch cackling behind us.

**_~Katniss~_**

That might have been the most humiliating moment of my life.

I had lost myself when I was kissing Peeta, but from the moment I saw him in his bathing suit which revealed his toned arms and legs, all I wanted to do was kiss him. And Haymitch had ruined it.

I grabbed one of the complimentary towels from a rack on the wall, quickly stripped off the bathing suit, and dried myself off.

I hurriedly tugged on my clothing and rushed out, hoping that Peeta was still changing so I wouldn't have to face him. Unfortunately, he was already changed and was waiting outside for me.

I brushed past him and the crew workers without a word.

"Katniss!" Peeta called after me. I could hear his hurried footsteps as he tried to catch up to me. "Katniss, stop! Where are you going?"

"Peeta, this was a huge mistake." I shrugged him off when he tried to grab my arm.

"What are you talking about?" he sounded hurt which broke my heart a little, but I kept marching away from him. "Katniss, please!"

I stopped and spun toward him, causing him to nearly run into me. His blue eyes were wide and frantic.

"Peeta, this isn't going to work! You're from the upper class, and I'm in the lower class! We live completely different lives! Imagine how your mother would react if she caught us together!"

Peeta looked taken aback. "Katniss, calm down! Are you worried that Haymitch will tell someone? He won't! He's just an old drunk who likes to make people feel uncomfortable."

"And telling your mother what he saw won't make you uncomfortable?" I snapped back.

Peeta pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "That's not what I meant! He won't tell, Katniss! I promise!"

"How do you know?"

"I'll talk to him. He won't, Katniss."

"But what about your mother? Her plans for you?"

"I don't give a damn about her plans," Peeta said desperately. "You were right that first night. No one should be able to steal my happiness, and I'm not going to let her anymore. I…I want…"

His voice trailed off and my features softened.

"You want what, Peeta?" I said barely above a whisper.

He stepped closer to me and held his hand up to caress my cheek. "I want…you."

I swallowed as he leaned down to kiss me chastely on the lips.

Suddenly my stomach growled, breaking the tension between us. We both chuckled and Peeta looked over at a clock on the wall. His eyes widened.

"Oh no," he whispered.

"What?" I asked confused.

"We missed lunch! Mother's going to _kill _me. She's already suspicious of something."

I felt my anger rise again. "You don't want her to know about me? You just said you didn't care what she wanted anymore."

Peeta pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes again and groaned. "That's not what I meant, Katniss."

"I think it is," I said as I began to storm away again.

I expected to hear his footsteps behind me again when suddenly I heard an angry high-pitched woman's voice exclaim, "Peeta! There you are! I have been looking everywhere for you!"

I glanced over my shoulder as I continued to walk away, seeing Peeta's mother slap him on the cheek. His head spun my way and our eyes met briefly. He looked crushed.

But I kept walking and didn't look back again.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Fun Fact: The <em>Titanic _and her sister ship, the _Olympic_, were the first ships to ever have pools on board._**


	8. Chapter 8

**_~Peeta~_**

Seeing Katniss storm away from me stung more than the slap on the cheek Mother gave me. My thoughts began to race. What if I couldn't find her again? What if she no longer wanted anything to do with me? My heart began to pound.

Mother continued scolding me but I wasn't even registering what she was saying to me. She dragged me back to our suite where she forced me to sit down on the sofa.

"You tell me right now, Peeta Mellark, where you have been!" she demanded, her eyes flaming and her neck flushed.

"I-" I began but she interrupted me.

"And you better not say you were on the top deck again because I had several people looking for you up there!"

I swallowed and looked away. "I was just exploring the ship," I answered quietly.

"Alone?"

I looked up into her fierce gaze that intimidated me so. This was the moment I could tell her about Katniss…but I just couldn't find the courage. I looked away again. "Yes."

Mother sighed exasperatedly. "Why did you not ask Madge to join you?"

I shrugged, "I was unsure of her whereabouts."

"Well, the next time you decide to disappear at least ask Madge to accompany you. You _are _going to marry her, Peeta. You might as well get to know her better."

My heart sank. I was digging myself deeper and deeper into this hole. The longer I waited to tell Mother about Katniss, the harder it would be to break away from the future she had planned so meticulously for me.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Mother smoothed her skirt and hair and gracefully opened the door, wearing a smile that didn't reveal anything about what had just transpired between us.

It was a crew worker at the door. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, I could not find your son."

"Oh, I found him," Mother gestured to me and I nodded to the crew worker. "Thank you for your assistance."

With that she closed the door in his face. "Worthless, so worthless," she muttered.

"After your little disappearance today, I expect you to be at tea this afternoon. It begins shortly actually. Better clean yourself up and dry your hair."

My face flushed. My hair – it was still wet. Did Mother know? I felt that I was playing some kind of game with her. Did she really know all I was doing and was acting ignorant?

I quickly rose from the sofa and went to my room to wash up and change for tea.

* * *

><p>An hour later I found myself seated with Mother and several other women, including Madge. I tried not to be humiliated but being one of the only men in the room made it difficult not to be. Mother ignored me most of the time and talked about wedding plans with Madge's mother.<p>

The whole time my thoughts were preoccupied with Katniss. She was right. Even though I didn't _feel_ ashamed of her, my actions portrayed that. Here I was sitting with Mother and potential mother-in-law letting them make wedding plans for me while I was quickly realizing that I had fallen in love with another woman. A woman Mother definitely would not approve of.

I glanced up at Madge. She was looking down at her hands. Unless I was misreading her, she didn't seem too thrilled about the wedding plans either.

I suddenly remembered how she had followed me last night to the third class General Room. Had she really followed me because she was curious or was there another reason? I realized I had lost track of her during the night. Had she stayed? Did she leave? I had no idea. I had to talk to her.

I quietly sat through the rest of tea until we were kindly ushered out of the Dining Saloon to let the crew workers prepare for supper.

Mother, Madge, her mother, and I made our way to the first-class promenade. As we strolled along the deck, I found myself walking next to Madge, followed by our mothers who were undoubtedly giddy with excitement that we were walking next to each other.

"So…" I began, breaking the silence. "I didn't see you again last night. Did you leave?"

Her cheeks flushed and she looked away. "No…I stayed."

"Oh," I replied, surprised. "I'm sorry I didn't see you."

"That's alright," she replied quietly. "We were both preoccupied."

She cast me a sly glance.

"I guess so," I chuckled softly. "Did you – um – did you dance with someone?"

"Yes." A soft smile graced her lips.

"Oh?" I asked, smiling. "Care to tell me who?"

She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see how closely our mothers were following us. They were caught up in their own conversation.

"Let's just say it was someone close to the girl you were dancing with," she said barely above a whisper.

I thought for a moment. "Gale?" I whispered.

Her cheeks flushed and she nodded subtly.

I chuckled. "Well it looks like I'm not the only one infatuated with someone who possesses dark hair and silver eyes."

She smiled up at me.

"Is that why you haven't been causing trouble like you suggested the first night?"

"Yes," she began quietly. "I actually met Gale the night I had that conversation with you."

I was surprised. "Really? But I escorted you back to your room."

"I couldn't sleep, so I left and found myself wandering the ship. I actually encountered him when he was on his way back to his cabin."

It all made perfect sense. She didn't want to cause trouble because she didn't even want to marry me. She wanted to be with Gale. I understood her feelings completely.

I had to ask the difficult question. "So…I think it is obvious we aren't too thrilled about being forced to marry each other. What do you think we should do?"

Madge looked thoughtful for a moment. "What if we just ran away?"

She said it so quietly, I wasn't sure if I heard her correctly. "Ran away?"

"When the ship docks," she continued quietly. "Gale already told me he wants me to run away with him. At first it scared me. But I realized at tea, listening to our mothers plan everything out for us, that I want to."

I didn't respond for a moment. I wanted more than anything to run away with Katniss, but now I might have lost her. I could feel my shoulders drooping as I remembered her storming away from me earlier.

Madge noticed the change in my demeanor. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I want that with Katniss," I responded, sadness dripping from my voice. "More than anything. But I think I might have ruined the chance I had with her."

"What happened?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned.

I quietly told her what had happened earlier in the day and Madge listened intently. When I finished she said with a look of seriousness, "You have to find her, Peeta. If it were me in your situation, I would find Gale. He embodies everything I've ever wanted in life and I can tell Katniss embodies that for you too. I wouldn't want to lose that."

I sighed. "You're right. I have to find her." I glanced back at Mother who was still chatting with Madge's mother. "But Mother is watching me like a hawk. I don't know how I'll be able to even look for Katniss."

"You'll find a way. If Katniss is truly worth it to you, you'll find a way."

I smiled warmly at Madge. "Thank you so much, Madge. You have truly helped me." I took her hand and kissed it gently. She smiled back.

I felt my heart swell with hope. I was going to find Katniss.

**_~Katniss~_**

As I stormed back to my cabin, I brushed away the few tears that had fallen. I wasn't going to cry. Why was I crying? I barely even knew Peeta. He was just some rich upper-class man.

But he was so much more than that. He was different. Kindness and selflessness seeped from his pores and reflected so deeply in his blue eyes that it was virtually impossible to view him as anything other than kind and selfless. And there was that connection we had. I had never experienced anything like that with anyone before.

When I reached the door to my cabin it swung open and Johanna nearly ran into me.

"Oh! Katniss! Where have you been?" Johanna put her hands on her hips then smirked. "Out with that blonde boy again?" She waggled her eyebrows.

I brushed past her without answering and flopped down on the bottom bunk.

"What's wrong with you?" Johanna asked, turning around to face.

"Nothing," I answered.

Annie suddenly walked in. "Is everything alright?" she asked gently.

Johanna shrugged.

"Katniss, what's going on? Did something happen with that blonde boy?"

Katniss sighed. "He's embarrassed of me."

"How do you know?" Annie asked gently.

"He said he doesn't want his mother to know about me."

"He said that?" Johanna asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Because the boy I saw dancing with you last night looked completely head-over-heels, unashamedly in love with you."

"Well, no…" I trailed off as I realized what Johanna had just said. "You think he's in love with me?"

"If the way he was looking at you doesn't say he was in love with you, then I don't know what would," Johanna said matter-of-factly.

I looked at Annie, questioningly. She nodded her agreement.

"I have to find him."

And with that I left the cabin.

As I walked briskly through the hallways, my mind raced. He was in love with me? Normally something like that would scare me, but not with Peeta. If someone as wonderful and kind as Peeta had fallen in love with me, I had to find him again.

But then I stopped. Did I love him? I had never been in love so I wasn't exactly sure what it felt like. Maybe I was in love with him, but even if I wasn't yet, I could _see _myself falling in love with him. Marrying him. Having his children. Growing old together. The images flashed quickly in my mind. I wasn't sure how it would all work out, but I know that I wanted it to.

I had to find him.

* * *

><p>I searched for several hours, even missing supper, but I couldn't find him. I didn't even feel like dancing so I just went to the top deck. The moon and the stars were already shining. I leaned against the railing at the stern, gazing up at them, feeling a few tears slip down my cheeks.<p>

"I thought you might be here," I heard a voice suddenly say behind me.

I quickly brushed away my tears and turned around to see Gale standing behind me.

"Oh, it's you," I said quietly, turning back to the ocean.

"Well, don't sound so excited," he replied jokingly.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not in a very good mood."

"Johanna and Annie told me you were looking for Peeta. I guess you couldn't find him?"

I shook my head, swallowing back the tears.

"Well, I might be able to cheer you up," Gale said, leaning on the railing next to me.

I turned my head to look at him. "How?"

Gale cleared his throat. "Well, he gave someone a message to give to me."

I narrowed my eyes. "Who?"

"Um – her name is Madge," he said barely above a whisper.

"Madge? The rich girl that followed Peeta to the General Room last night?"

Gale blushed. "Hey, I didn't give you a hard time about your rich blonde."

I chuckled. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Gale nudged me and smiled. "I'm just kidding, Catnip."

I smiled back. "So Peeta gave Madge a message?"

Gale nodded. "She said that she had told Peeta she was meeting with me and he asked her to tell me to tell you something."

I quirked my eyebrow. "Which is?"

"That if you forgive him, to meet him at the Grand Staircase tomorrow at four o'clock."

"Tomorrow?"

"That's what I was told. Are you going to meet him?"

"Yes. Yes, I am."

Gale smiled and nudged me again. "Good. You deserve some happiness, Catnip."

I put my head on his shoulder. "You do too, Gale."

He put his arm around me and squeezed. We stayed like that for a while, gazing at the stars, until Gale finally said, "We should head to bed, Catnip."

I yawned and nodded in agreement, even though I knew I probably wouldn't get much sleep tonight.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Warning: Mature content ahead!**_

* * *

><p><strong>APRIL 13, 1912<strong>

**_~Peeta~_**

Making the necessary arrangements for my plans with Katniss definitely wasn't easy. Fortunately, Gale, Madge, and even Haymitch were able to help me. I found out from Madge at dinner that Gale had told Katniss my message. According to Gale, she agreed to show up, but I was afraid she would change her mind. Just from the short time I had known Katniss, she seemed very unpredictable and fiercely independent.

Madge had convinced Mother to spend tea and the rest of the afternoon with her to talk about the wedding that wasn't going to happen, which gave me the freedom from Mother that I needed. Haymitch had come up with a plan to somehow distract any crew members that would refuse Katniss access to the upper class areas.

When I first saw Haymitch at supper last night after the incident at the pool, I glared at him from across the table as he tried to stifle a laugh. Some of those seated at our table looked over at him, including Mother, but no one seemed to think much of the snickering, disheveled drunk who had joined our party. Fortunately, my glare seemed to convey the message I wanted him to receive – he didn't say a word about what he had seen Katniss and I doing earlier.

After supper, when we joined the gentlemen for smoking and brandy, he plopped down in the seat next to me. "You really like that girl, don't you, kid?" he had asked, leaning so close to me that I could smell the liquor on his breath.

Without meeting his stare, I nodded my head, feeling my checks flush at the thought of what he caught us doing earlier.

Haymitch puffed out his cheeks and let out a breath. "Well, where is she now?"

I reluctantly explained to him what had happened after he caught us in the pool, told him my conversation with Madge, and about the plan I had come up with.

Haymitch had surprisingly listened intently as I talked, and then surprised me even more by saying he wanted to help me. Baffled, I had asked him how. He informed me that he had made some friends on the ship that could make some adjustments to the crew workers' shifts.

When I asked him why he wanted to help me, he swished the brandy around in his glass and shrugged. "Sometimes I can be a sucker for young love. You kids deserve some happiness."

Stunned at seeing this side of Haymitch, I could only mumble a "thank you."

After my conversation with Haymitch, all of my plans had fallen into place, and now I was just hoping that Katniss wouldn't change her mind.

Finally, tea had arrived and Mother bid me goodbye as she left with Madge. I quickly finished gathering what I needed and shortly after, left for the Grand Staircase.

* * *

><p>I impatiently tapped my foot on the tile floor as I waited for Katniss at the top of the Grand Staircase. The clock carved on the wall before me indicated that it was 4:04. Where was she? Did she change her mind? I ran a shaky hand through my hair and took a deep breath.<p>

"Peeta?" I suddenly heard a timid voice say behind me. I felt my heart rate speed up as I spun around to see Katniss standing at the bottom of the staircase, looking up at me with apprehensive silver eyes.

"Katniss!" I cried, rushing down the steps to meet her, unable to suppress the smile that spread itself on my face.

"Peeta, I'm sorry…" she began, but I gently took her face in my hands and kissed her, our lips melting together and effectively cutting her off. I could feel the heat beginning to build, but I pulled away quickly, eager to reveal my plans to her.

I took her hand in mine. "Let's go," I smiled at her. She smiled softly back and I thought my heart might burst in my chest.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking around at the beautiful architecture surrounding her. I was so glad Haymitch had been able to distract the crew workers so that Katniss could admire the beauty of the _Titanic _within the upper class areas.

I only smiled at her in answer.

I led her through a maze of hallways and through numerous doors until we finally reached our destination.

**_~Katniss~_**

As Peeta opened the door before us, I gasped.

Before me was a small, private deck that faced the ocean. The sun was getting close to the horizon and cast hues of all colors across the sky. The colors reflected in the ocean waters and everything seemed to glow. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Peeta," I breathed. "How did you find this?"

"I had a little help from Haymitch," he said sheepishly.

"Haymitch?" I replied, incredulous.

"I told you he wouldn't tell our secret."

Peeta smiled down at me and I felt my breath leave me as his kind eyes settled on my face. The golden hues of the sunset highlighted his hair, illuminated his long eyelashes, and made his eyes shine even more than they already did.

He suddenly turned away from me and strode over to something lying on the deck. I realized as he picked it up that it was a blanket. He spread it out and then picked up a basket next to it.

"Would you care to join me for a picnic, Miss Everdeen?" he looked up at me and held his arms out.

I smiled. "Of course, Mr. Mellark," I replied in my best upper-class voice. His smile widened and he let out a laugh.

I joined him on the blanket and tucked my legs underneath me as he pulled out all different kinds of food from the basket.

"How did you get all of this?" I asked in amazement.

"Being in the upper class has some benefits," he replied slyly.

We ate the food and spent a lot of time laughing as we told each other funny stories from our childhoods. I found out that when Peeta was twelve, he was stocking bags of flour in his family's bakery with his brothers when he dropped one. Flour had apparently gotten everywhere and he said he was washing flour out of his hair for weeks. I laughed uncontrollably as he gestured wildly with his hands and his voice became high pitched with excitement.

I told him about the time Prim's goat escaped its pen and I had to chase it around the yard, slipping in the mud, until I finally caught it. He laughed so hard that his eyes squeezed shut and dimples popped out on his cheeks.

When his laughter died down, I said mischievously, "Tell me a secret, Peeta."

"A secret?" he repeated, looking up and scratching his head. "Do I have any secrets?"

I playfully swatted his arm. "Of course you do!" I laughed. "Everyone has secrets."

His eyes suddenly met mine and I thought I saw something flash in them briefly. Was it fear? Guilt? It was gone so quickly and replaced by a sly smile that I soon forgot about it.

"Well, what would you like to know, Miss Everdeen?" he asked, his blue eyes locked on mine.

"Hmm…" I hummed, tapping my chin as I pretended to think deeply. "When is your birthday?"

"That's not really a secret," he took on a scolding expression.

"Well, I want to know."

He laughed. "Alright. My birthday is October 12th. When's yours?"

"May 5th. How old are you?"

He laughed again. "You are pretty curious, aren't you?"

I shrugged.

"I'm eighteen," he said. "You?"

"Seventeen."

He nodded. "What's your favorite color?"

"Green," I said, sighing.

"Why green?" he asked, turning to me and narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

"There were woods by my house when I was growing up. I used to go out there all the time to clear my head. I felt like it was my escape from reality, especially in the morning when the sun was just rising. The birds would start to sing, the wildlife would begin to stir from sleep, the smell of dew on the leaves and grass, the sound of the creek bubbling." I blinked, coming out of my reverie, and looked at Peeta who was gazing at me intently.

"It sounds beautiful," he said barely above a whisper. He seemed to be as lost in the memory as I was.

"It was," I replied softly.

"Do you miss it?"

I nodded and swallowed. "All the time."

We were silent for a moment until I finally asked, "So what's _your_ favorite color?"

He seemed to be contemplating a moment then said, "Orange."

"Orange?" I replied, wrinkling my nose.

"Not a bold orange, more like – " he looked out to the ocean – "a sunset kind of orange."

I gazed out toward the sun that had just begun to touch the waters of the ocean. We stayed silent for several moments, just admiring the beauty, until I realized that Peeta was looking at me.

"You're missing the sunset," I said softly, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.

"It looks more beautiful on you," he responded lowly.

I turned to look at him. Our eyes met and I saw his darken. I could only reason that it was from desire as he slowly leaned toward me.

Our lips met in a fiery heat that was surely hotter than the sunset that bathed us in its glow. His hand came up to caress my cheek as I tilted my head to deepen the kiss.

Our tongues danced and our lips locked over and over. I felt fire shoot down my spine as he gently sucked on my bottom lip. He tasted like the chocolate we had just eaten. Sweet, rich, and intoxicating.

As our kiss became more heated, our hands found their way into each other's hair. His soft blonde strands were woven between my fingers and I tugged on them gently which elicited a moan from deep inside his throat that made me shiver.

His hands moved to wrap around my waist, and he pulled me closer to him as we lay back onto the blanket. His mouth left mine as he began to kiss, lick, and suck across my cheek, my jaw, and down my neck. I let out a breath as he laid me on my back and hovered over me.

When he found a sweet spot on my neck, my hips involuntarily bucked up to meet his. I felt his pronounced manhood against my core and let out a moan as he grunted against my neck.

I was beginning to realize where this was headed and felt a pang of fear. I had never done this before and I was suddenly wondering if Peeta had.

He must have noticed the change in my demeanor because he suddenly stopped kissing my neck and pulled back to look at me.

"Are you alright?" he asked, tenderly pushing a strand of hair out of my face.

I nodded, but couldn't meet his eyes.

"Katniss, what is it?" he said worriedly, as he sat back and gently pulled me up with him.

"I just…I've never…Have you done this before?" I squeaked out, wringing my hands.

Peeta looked at me a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever…kissed someone like this before?" I murmured, still unable to look at his eyes.

"No," he replied without hesitation. "Never."

"Never? Not with anyone?" I said quietly, finally looking up at him.

"No. Why?"

"I just…You just seem to know what you're doing," I responded, chuckling uncomfortably.

"I just want to make you feel good." He brought his hand up to caress my cheek and ran his thumb along my bottom lip as he gazed at it longingly. "And you seemed to like what I was doing," he smirked playfully.

"Then do it again," I replied boldly.

The smile quickly fell from his face as his eyes darkened. Suddenly his mouth was on mine again in such a passionate frenzy that the heat from earlier paled in comparison.

We gasped against each other's mouths as our lips locked and our tongues explored each other's mouths. His kisses seemed much more unrestrained than before and suddenly his hands were on my waist again as he urged me to lie back once again.

I could feel warmth pooling between my legs and something was tightening in my lower abdomen that I had never felt before. When his manhood came into contact with my core once again I gasped loudly as I felt the pleasure mount significantly.

My hands tugged at his hair fiercely and he grinded against me again. My legs went up to lock around his thighs, pulling him closer to me. He gasped and I felt him twitch against me as he laid his forehead against mine.

I began to kiss and suck at his exposed neck above me, tasting the sweat that had gathered there. He moaned softly and I felt his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed roughly.

Surprising myself, I untucked his shirt and slipped my hands underneath, feeling his stomach muscles that had clenched tightly at my touch. As I ran my hands up his back I felt goosebumps raise up on his skin and he shuddered.

He kissed me passionately again and I began to undo the buttons of his shirt. Once they were undone, he flung it aside and ripped off his undershirt. I ran my hands up his chest, feeling the fine dark hairs and raking my nails down his stomach. He groaned loudly and suddenly lifted my shoulders off the ground to reach behind me.

At first I was unsure of what he was doing, but I realized he was playing with the laces of my dress. I placed my hand on his chest, urging him to sit back so that I could sit up too.

The sun was just beginning to dip below the ocean as I said, "Take off my dress."

His eyes became impossibly dark as his slid his hands behind me and began to undo the laces of my dress. I didn't think he could get it off of me fast enough. My skin was so hot that the frigid air felt good on my bare skin.

After my dress was removed, I urged off his pants until we were both only in our underclothes. His undergarments did little to hide his arousal, and I could feel my nipples tighten noticeably through the thin material of my chemise.

I saw his eyes glance down at me before he tentatively rose his hands up to tenderly graze my waist and up to the sides of my breasts. I let out a breathy sigh. Seemingly encouraged by this, his hands touched more of my breasts until he was finally cupping them in his palms.

His thumbs flicked over my nipples and I moaned embarrassingly loud. His eyes widened and he swallowed. He laid me back down as he began to knead the soft flesh of my breasts, drawing out sensations and sounds from me that I didn't know were possible.

He suddenly lowered his head to my neck and began to kiss and suck his way down to my shoulder where he slid the sleeve of my chemise down and followed its path with wet, tender kisses. I sighed to encourage him until finally my breasts were exposed to the air. I could feel my nipples tighten painfully in the cold air, but then his hot mouth was on them, covering them with tender kisses. His lips closed around one of my nipples and he sucked it into his mouth, rolling it around on his tongue.

I moaned loudly as he continued onto the other breast, my lower abdomen growing even tighter. As he began to kiss down in between my breasts, to my navel, and even lower, he looked up at me as if he were asking permission.

The love and adoration that reflected in his eyes as they glimmered in the moonlight made it impossible to deny him what he was asking. I nodded and he removed my last undergarment. I was completely nude, lying on the deck of the _Titanic_, completely exposed to this man whom I had just met. But I felt so overcome with my feelings toward him, so _in love_ with him, that I knew it was right.

He moved his way back up to my mouth and kissed me passionately as I felt his fingers slide over my folds. I gasped against his mouth as one of his fingers found my entrance and slid into me. I arched my back at the sensation, and he added another finger.

"Peeta…" I moaned breathily.

He drew his fingers back out and slid them over my folds again suddenly rubbing against a nub that sent jolts of electricity up my spine.

I gasped loudly and Peeta pulled his hand back as if he had been burned.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked hurriedly.

I laughed breathily and smiled at him. "No," I breathed. "No, not at all. That felt amazing."

He raised his eyebrows and looked down my body as he rubbed my folds again, trying to repeat what he had just done.

When he hit that bundle of nerves again, my hips bucked against his hand. He began circling the area with his fingers, sending waves of pleasure through my body.

I opened my eyes abruptly and looked at him.

"Peeta," I said, to get his attention.

He looked at me questioningly.

"I want to see you," I said. Normally saying something like that would embarrass me, but I felt so crazed by what he was doing to me with his fingers that I wanted to bring him the same kind of pleasure.

He slowly removed the last of his undergarments until his manhood sprung free of its confines. I quickly realized that I had never seen the male anatomy before and had no idea how to bring pleasure to Peeta.

I tentatively reached out and wrapped my hand around him which rewarded me with a low groan from him. I began to stroke him up and down and he threw his head back as his mouth fell open and his eyes closed.

"Katniss," he moaned out. I stroked him several more times until his hand covered mine and he pulled my hand away.

Our mouths met again in a deep kiss that seemed to hold so much tenderness and desire that in that moment I knew I had to have him inside of me. I wanted to be his and I wanted him to be mine. I wanted to be one with him.

"Peeta," I said between kisses. "Make love to me."

He stopped kissing me and pulled back to look at me. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I replied without hesitation.

I felt his hand go down between us as he probed my entrance again with his finger. He then withdrew from me and grasped his manhood as he guided himself to my entrance.

He gently pushed himself in and I let out a small gasp.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, his eyes narrowed in concern.

I nodded. "I just need a moment to adjust."

"Let me know when you're ready. If you want me to stop, just tell me." He kissed my forehead gently and ran the back of his hand down the side of my face.

"I'm ready," I said quietly.

He pushed himself in a little further until he reached a barrier. I screwed my face up in pain and he quickly withdrew from me.

"Katniss, I don't want to hurt you."

"No, Peeta. Just give me a moment. I want this with you."

He sighed and waited until I nodded. He entered me again with a little more force, breaking the barrier he encountered before, until he was completely sheathed inside of me. I breathed through the pain and Peeta froze above me, waiting for me.

Finally, the pain became more of a pinching sensation that wasn't as uncomfortable.

"Alright," I said locking eyes with him.

His eyes never left mine as he began to rock back and forth, thrusting gently in and out of me. I finally began to feel pleasure building again in my lower abdomen and I began to rock my hips with his, keeping the rhythm.

"I…I'm not going to last very long," he said quietly, averting his eyes in embarrassment.

I reached up to touch his cheek, forcing him to look back at me. I craned my neck upwards to kiss him and our lips melted together.

His thrusts began to speed up and become a little more forceful as he broke away from our kiss and lowered his forehead to my shoulder, panting for breath.

I felt his hand trail down my stomach until he reached the nub between my legs again. The tightening in my abdomen had become almost painful and I arched up to meet his thrusts. He groaned against my neck and I felt tiny droplets of sweat dripping onto my shoulder.

He rubbed the bundle of nerves in tight circles as I gasped and writhed under him until finally the tightness released. I felt myself explode around him inside of me, contracting and sending tingles throughout my body.

He moaned loudly as his face screwed up and his whole body went rigid above me. He held his breath a moment and I felt him pulsate inside of me. Then he collapsed on top of me, panting desperately.

We lay there for several moments, still connected, catching our breaths. I ran my fingers through his hair that had become damp with sweat and kissed his head.

He leaned up on his arm to kiss me deeply.

"That was amazing," he breathed. "Thank you. Thank you." He began showering me with kisses all over my face.

I giggled.

He laid his head back down on my breasts and let out a contented sigh.

"Promise me something, Peeta," I said as I gazed up at the silver moon that had replaced the golden sunset.

"Anything," he replied, turning his head to look up at me.

"When the ship docks," I began. "Stay with me."

He gave me a long, lingering kiss before he replied, "Always."


	10. Chapter 10

_**Warning: Mature content ahead!**_

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Peeta~<em>**

Making love to Katniss was the most delicious and intoxicating experience of my entire life. Everything about it felt so right and so natural that, even being my first time, I felt like I knew just how to please her and make her understand the way I felt about her. We had become one not only physically, but emotionally, mentally, and every other way a person can become united with another. I felt that my very soul was now tied to her.

We lay there on the deck, our limbs tangled together. I could hear her heart beating with my head on her breasts. It was lulling me to sleep. But she suddenly shivered violently, snapping me awake. I realized that I was getting cold too.

Our actions earlier had kept us warm, but now that we were just lying here on the deck in the open frigid air, our body temperatures were declining.

I sat up and Katniss pulled me back down. "No," she whined. "I don't want to leave."

I chuckled against her breasts as she held me down. "Katniss, you're shivering."

I saw her lips tremble from the cold and heard her teeth chatter before she flexed her jaw and replied, "No, I'm not."

I leaned up to kiss her. Pulling away I said, "Come on, I have an idea."

Katniss groaned but rose as I pulled her up with me. I gathered her dress and other layers and handed them to her. I found my own clothes and hurriedly pulled them back on as my teeth began to chatter as well.

After we were both dressed, I kissed her warmly again before leaning down to pick up the picnic basket and the blanket that now smelled like our love-making. It was such a heady smell that I momentarily considered throwing Katniss down onto it and making love to her again.

We opened the door that led back inside the ship and walked hand-in-hand toward my suite. I kept glancing at Katniss, unable to help myself since she wore such a bright smile. She noticed my staring and looked over at me, blushing and giggling.

If we were to encounter anyone on our way back to the suite, I think it would be quite obvious what we had just done.

We didn't encounter anyone, however, and when we reached my suite, I opened the door and motioned for Katniss to enter.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, looking around.

"It's a surprise."

"Don't you think you've given me enough tonight?" she said, smiling warmly at me.

"Definitely not."

I led her into my bedroom and closed the door behind us. I immediately dropped the blanket and picnic basket and grabbed her waist, pulling her to me. She gasped as I kissed her passionately, pushing my tongue into her mouth.

She sighed and allowed me entrance as her tongue began to dance with mine. I kept moving my hands, wanting to touch her everywhere that I possibly could. She gasped again as I wrapped my hands around her hips and pulled them into mine so she could feel my desire for her.

"Peeta…" she moaned as I devoured her mouth again.

Her hands wove into my hair and tugged which caused my manhood to twitch against her.

I moved my arms to wrap under her buttocks and lifted her. I carried her over to the bed, my mouth not leaving hers, and I gently laid her down, hovering over.

Her legs locked around my thighs, pulling me closer to her so that my manhood would push against her core. She moaned loudly and I began to run my hands over her breasts.

She threw her head back and let out a breathy sigh. I massaged her breasts through her dress until she apparently couldn't take anymore and sat up to undo the laces of her dress. She shimmied out of it and threw it aside as I pulled down her chemise, exposing her breasts to me. Her nipples were taut and puckered and I immediately devoured one with my mouth, sucking, licking, biting gently.

She moaned and pulled me closer to her with her legs as I moved onto the other breast. I felt her begin to undo the buttons of my shirt as she had done earlier, and pushed it off my shoulders. She ran her hands beneath my undershirt and I felt my skin flinch from the touch of her cold fingers.

She grabbed the hem of my undershirt and yanked it over my head, forcing me to pull away from her breast. Before I could continue pleasing her, she put her hands on my face and pulled me back to her mouth. She kissed me with such heat that I became breathless and dizzy. I was quickly losing control and she knew it.

She pushed me back with her hands until I was flat on my back and she was on top of me. I groaned as she began to kiss and lick down my jaw, my neck, my chest, making a trail down my abdomen. Her fingers played with the fine dark hair that began below my navel and disappeared into my pants. She looked up at me as her kissing led to the top of my pants, giving me a dark, seductive look. I audibly swallowed and she hooked her fingers into the top of my pants and pulled them down along with my underclothes.

My manhood sprung free, throbbing with arousal. I sighed at the relief of having it free. She tugged my pants off of my legs and then moved back up to my manhood.

She looked at it a moment, not moving, an unreadable expression on her face. I felt myself flush, being at her scrutiny and mercy like this. I began to shift uncomfortably, when her eyes darted up to mine. She must have seen my discomfort reflected in my eyes, because she moved back up to my face. Prepared for her to kiss me again, I was completely unprepared for her hand that wrapped around my manhood.

I let out a loud shaky groan and felt my mouth fall open. My eyes closed of their own accord and I pushed my head back into the pillows.

I heard her chuckle softly above me as she continued to stroke me, up and down. She continued until I could feel myself getting close. I felt myself tense and I quickly pulled her hand away from me.

Confused, she looked at me. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, I just…I was about to…I don't want to be done yet," I chuckled uncomfortably.

"Oh," she breathed, nodding her head knowingly.

I put my hand on the back of her head, pulling her down to kiss me again. As we kissed, I pushed her to lie on her back and laid on my side beside her. I helped her remove her underclothes, then I let one of my hands trail down between her breasts, down her abdomen, past her navel, until I reached her folds that were slick with arousal.

I felt my manhood twitch knowing that I had done that to her.

I slipped my fingers between her folds, probing her entrance and sliding back out to find that place that brought her such pleasure.

I knew I had found it when her hips bucked off of the bed. I continued to massage the spot gently, then had an idea. I slid two fingers down to her entrance and pushed them into her, as I let my thumb continue to rub her sensitive spot. She moaned loudly and I looked up at her.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, her hair splayed out over the pillows, her mouth had fallen open, and her arms were flung over her head. She looked so beautiful. I was sure I could get drunk on the sight before me.

I continued pleasing her with my fingers until she cried out, "Peeta!" I felt her walls contract around my fingers and a surge of wetness covered them.

Unable to control myself anymore, I moved over her and quickly entered her. She gasped with pleasure as I began to thrust in and out of her. Her tight, wet walls were sure to bring me to my release momentarily.

I panted above her as I felt my release approaching fast. I looked into her eyes that were now open, gazing at me with such tenderness that I suddenly felt the tightening in my abdomen release. My body went still above her, my head fell back, my jaw went slack, and I felt myself spill inside of her.

I collapsed onto her and shuddered as the rest of my release left me. I felt her kissing my head and heard her murmuring things to me.

I was so content and so caught up in her that I didn't even realize I was missing supper and that Mother would be expecting me.

**_~Katniss~_**

Peeta lay on my breasts, catching his breath, completely spent as I smoothed his hair. I never wanted to leave this bed. I wanted to lay naked and tangled up with him forever.

Until the door to his bedroom suddenly flew open.

Peeta's eyes got wide and he scrambled to get off of me and cover us with the sheets.

"Peeta!" I heard a woman screech.

Peeta had moved to block me from his mother's view, but I could see her as I peered around his shoulder.

She was not alone, however. That blonde girl that had followed Peeta to the dance the other night was with her, along with a few other upper class women.

All of them were gaping at us, except for Peeta's mother who was wearing a deep scowl and had a smug look on her face as if she expected to catch us here.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Peeta's mother screeched again.

"I-I-I…Mother, please – just let us get dressed and then I'll explain!" Peeta sounded so distressed that I felt my heart constrict.

"I don't think there is anything to explain, Peeta Mellark! I've just found you naked in bed with a woman who isn't your fiancée!"

My ears perked up at the word _fiancée. _Peeta had a fiancée? I felt a flush creep up my neck and into my cheeks. Then a flood of emotions overwhelmed me. Anger, guilt, and heartbrokenness. Peeta had betrayed me. I felt disgusting.

"Fiancée?" I squeaked out, surprising myself.

I saw the blood drain from Peeta's face as he turned to me, sputtering for words. "No! No, I-"

His mother cut him off. "Yes, fiancée! This is his fiancée, Madge, right here!" She grabbed Madge's arm and yanked her forward, making sure that I got a good look at her.

Madge began to say something, but Peeta's mother cut her off. "They're getting married shortly after the ship docks," she said smugly.

My vision became blurry as my eyes welled up with tears. I felt Peeta's hands on either side of my face.

"Katniss, no! I'm not marrying her!" His voice seemed so far away.

I pushed his hands off of me and stood up, not caring that I was exposed to these people. I felt the evidence of our love-making leak out of me and run down my thighs. I hurriedly put my dress back on, feeling completely used and dirty.

Peeta scooted to the edge of the bed, covering himself with a blanket, and reached down for his pants. He yanked them back on and strode over to me as I began to walk toward the door.

He grabbed my arm and spun me around. "Katniss, you have to believe me! I – "

I cut him off with a slap so hard that my hand went numb from the sting. His head spun to the side and he kept it there a moment, as if he was reorienting himself. I felt my anger overpowering all of the other emotions that I was feeling.

He looked back to me with glassy eyes, ready to say something but I cut him off. "Don't you _ever _speak to me again!"

His eyes became desperate and he tried to reach for me, but I shrugged him off and stormed toward the door. Everyone that had gathered in the room moved out of the way so that I could make my exit.

I stormed out of the suite, ignoring Peeta's pleas to wait, and I didn't stop until I had reached the railing at the stern of the ship where I threw up.


	11. Chapter 11

**_~Peeta~_**

The dark void of depression over my future began to swallow me again as I watched Katniss leave, ignoring my pleas for her to wait and let me explain.

I looked helplessly at Madge, the tears threatening to fall.

"I'm so sorry, Peeta," she whispered, looking away.

"Sorry?" Mother snapped. "_He _is the one who should be sorry! He just slept with some dirty, lower-class whore when he is engaged to _you_!"

My hands clenched into fists at hearing Mother call Katniss that. "She is not a whore, Mother!" I screamed, making Mother jump back in surprise. "I love her!"

Mother scoffed. "You do not. You just had some masculine _needs _and found some whore who would attend to them for you."

It took all of my self-control not to hit her.

"Ugh…even this room smells of sex." She waved her hand before her nose. "Who knows how many men that wretched girl has been with."

I was about to lash out when I felt strong hands on my biceps, pulling me back. I whipped around, intending to direct my fury against the person holding me back, but saw that it was Haymitch.

"What's going on in here?" he asked, as he took in my near nakedness, the messy bed, and Mother's anger.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Mother demanded. "No one invited you in!"

"I heard shouting, and thought I better make sure everything was alright," he replied casually.

"We don't need your help," Mother hissed.

Haymitch ignored her and directed his attention to me. "What's going on, kid?"

I looked at him helplessly, feeling my hopelessness overcoming my fury at Mother.

"That is none of your business!" Mother cried, stepping between us.

"Would you just calm down and let me talk to the boy? Seems like he needs a man to talk to since he has no others in his life!" Haymitch hollered.

They continued bickering back-and-forth as I drifted back to the bed and sat down heavily, putting my head in my hands. What had I done? I couldn't bear the thought of not seeing Katniss again. I felt a lump form in my throat.

Suddenly, the bickering stopped and I realized I was alone with Haymitch. He plopped down on the bed next to me and offered me his flask. I took it without hesitating and took several gulps. I felt my mouth twist at the vile taste, but the numbing effect was welcome.

"What happened?" Haymitch asked, taking the flask back.

I sighed, pushing back the urge to cry. "I lost her, Haymitch. I really lost her."

"How do you know that?"

I explained to him how we were – _you know_ – and Mother walked in on us, announcing that Madge was my fiancée, and how Katniss had slapped me and left, screaming that she didn't want me to talk to her ever again. I let out a shaky breath when I finished.

Haymitch's brow furrowed. He didn't say anything for a long time. Just when I didn't think I could take the silence anymore he began, "I never planned on telling you this, but I think you ought to know." He paused and took a breath. "I've known Katniss's family for a long time – or _did_."

I looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"I knew her parents. Grew up with them actually. Katniss's father was a great man. It nearly killed me when I found out he had died." He took another swig. "I was in charge of the mine he worked in. He always worked hard and was cheerful about it too. He was truly a leader down in those mines. Everyone respected him. So when he got sick, it really affected the amount of coal we mined.

"I found out later that he had gotten the sickness from working in the mine. _My _mine. Apparently there was some health protocol that I missed. So I was responsible. And not only did the sickness take him, but it took the rest of her family, and Gale' father too. Those two were left with nothing, and I watched from afar as they struggled to work things out and keep each other going."

He took another swig as I continued to stare at him, listening intently.

"I felt so guilty, especially when Katniss's sister died too, that I found out where Gale worked and started paying his boss more money to give to Gale. I knew they would never accept charity, knowingly at least, they're too proud for that.

"When I found out about the _Titanic_, I decided I should buy my way onto it. Start fresh in the States. Then I thought, they could do that too. I told his boss to tell him about the _Titanic _and heard that he was so enthused, I knew I had to help. I paid his boss even more money so that Gale could purchase the tickets. And he did. And now here we are."

I let everything that he had just told me sink in for a moment then said, "So Katniss doesn't know who you are?"

Haymitch shook his head. "Nope."

"But that's why you helped me make those plans for her. Because you want her to be happy."

He nodded. "After everything she's been through, she deserves someone like you in her life."

"And now I've ruined it." I put my head in my hands miserably.

"Don't give up, kid. That girl has been through hell and worse. She's had everyone she cares about ripped away from her. And when she finally opened up to you, this happened. You just have to explain yourself to her. Let her know she hasn't lost _you_."

I scoffed. "But how do I do that when she doesn't want me to talk to her?"

"Make her listen! Convince her that you love _her_, and want to be with _her_."

I sighed loudly and put my head in my hands again.

"Look kid, I've done too much for this girl to let you give up so easily. You better find her or I'll kick your ass."

I chuckled despite myself. But then I remembered something…Mother.

Haymitch noticed my face fall and the realization dawned on him too. "Right…your Mother."

I nodded miserably. "How do I get away from her?"

Haymitch was silent for a moment. "Forget her. You need to be happy, and Katniss needs to be happy. That isn't going to happen if you let your Mother control everything you do."

"But how do I get her to understand that she can't control me?"

"By not letting her! And by telling her that she can't! Wouldn't you do anything for Katniss?"

I nodded earnestly.

"Then do this for her."

"But Mother just…she just _knows _how to control me," I protested.

"How does she control you?" Haymitch asked, locking eyes with me.

"She – she uses my father against me," I sighed, looking away from Haymitch's piercing eyes. "She says that I can make the Mellark name well known and respected. That Father would want that."

Haymitch looked at me a moment then responded, "You were close to your Father, huh?"

"Yes. I miss him so much."

Haymitch put his hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look at him. "If your father is anything like you, then I can promise you that what your mother is doing to you would not make him happy."

I was silent for a moment as I considered this. Would Father really be that concerned with his family name being in the upper-class realms of the business world? Or would he want me to be happy?

I knew the answer. And I cursed myself for not realizing it before. Of course Father would want me to be happy. He would want me to make a name for _myself _doing something I loved with _someone _I loved. I could still make the Mellark name known and respected, but in a different way than Mother wanted. That's what Father would want for me. What he would want for all of us.

Haymitch must have seen my eyes light up as I realized all of this. He smiled gently at me.

"Go find your girl," he said as he took another swig from his flask and stood up, stretching. "My work here is done."

I chuckled as I stood up to finish getting dressed and Haymitch made his way toward the door.

"Hey." He turned to me as he opened the door. I stopped buttoning my shirt and looked up at him expectantly. "Get the maids to change the sheets. It smells like sex in here."

I blushed furiously as I hollered at him to get out. He left, closing the door behind him. I could hear him snickering at himself the whole way. I shook my head.

After I had finished dressing, I opened the door and walked into the parlor. I strode toward the door to the suite until I was stopped by a voice behind me.

"And where do you think you are going, Peeta?" Mother hissed.

I took a deep breath before I turned around and replied, "To find Katniss."

Mother laughed condescendingly, as if I had just told a stupid joke. "I don't think so," she said lowly, her eyes locking on me.

I swallowed and said, "You can't control me anymore, Mother."

Mother's eyebrows rose slightly, but she didn't look surprised like I expected.

"I thought you might say that," she replied in a voice that made me nervous. She was clearly expecting this and had a plan.

"You see," she began. "I've known for quite some time about your sneaking around with this _Katniss_." She said Katniss's name like she was spitting rotten food out of her mouth. She continued, "I was hoping that you would leave the girl before I had to intervene, but clearly you need some guidance."

She took a step towards me and I took a deep breath.

"I have plans for you, Peeta. Great plans. And I would hate for all of my meticulous planning to go to waste. So I've installed some _precautions _to keep you on the right track."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice slightly shaky. I cursed myself for it.

She stepped toward me until she was directly in front of me. She reached out her hand and I flinched instinctively, expecting her to slap me. But instead, she reached behind me and opened the door to our suite.

I spun around to see two crew workers force their way into the suite. I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking from the crew workers to Mother.

"Well, Peeta, I was going through my clothes the other day and I noticed my bathing suit was missing." Mother paused, as if she were waiting for me to remember.

My eyes widened as I remembered that I had never returned her bathing suit after I had given it to Katniss to wear in the pool. And now that she mentioned it, I realized Katniss hadn't come out of the locker room with it as she was too eager to get away after Haymitch had caught us.

Upon seeing my realization, she continued, "I thought, well where would a bathing suit be used but for the pool? So I asked around until some crew workers informed me of a strange instance."

I gulped.

"They said that they had seen a young man with blonde hair entering the pool alone one day, but that later he had exited with a woman of the lower-class, and they had never seen her enter," Mother stated smugly. "As you know, people of the lower-class are not to be in the pool. So they did an inspection of the locker room to see if anything had been stolen, and they found a bathing suit. They had heard that I was missing one and brought it to me, to see if it was mine. And it was. And I had never worn it."

Her eyes bored into mine. "As I could only deduce that the blonde young man could be you and that the lower-class woman was the whore you've been sneaking around with, I was forced to report that my bathing suit had been stolen. And I have witnesses who will identify the thief."

I drew in a breath. "Mother," I began sharply.

But she cut me off. "Now there is no need to require her arrest…that is, if you choose to forget her and cooperate with me."

She stared at me intensely, and I stared back with equal ferocity. How could she do this to me? Her own son?

"If you really care about this whore, Peeta," Mother warned. "Then I would cooperate if I were you. It would be bad for her to be arrested. _Very bad_."

I was trapped. What could I do? Of course I could never let Katniss be arrested. She would be treated harshly, being of the lower-class. And she could lose everything. After all that she had been through, I couldn't do that to her.

I sank down onto the sofa as Mother triumphed over me, the crew workers from the pool that day standing behind her as if to reinforce her threat to Katniss.

"Now forget about this whore," Mother stated. "You're marrying Madge, and nothing you do will change that."

**_~Katniss~_**

**APRIL 14, 1912**

I must have been standing by the railing at the stern of the ship for most of the night by now. The air was freezing but my anger kept my blood hot. Eventually, however, that anger

began to give way to the deep sadness and betrayal I was feeling.

How had I been so stupid? Why had I allowed myself to be so open with an upper class man? Of course, all he wanted was to fulfill his _needs_.

_But Peeta is different_, a small voice at the back of my mind said. I felt tears leak out of my eyes. I really thought I felt something for him, I thought we had a connection. I had never felt that with anyone before…and now it just turned out to be a lie. It was all a lie.

I eventually began to think about Gale. He had been betrayed too. Madge was engaged to Peeta and was misleading Gale. And I knew Gale. He was like me. He didn't just give his heart away like that. He must have really felt something for her too. I wonder if he knew that our _rich blondes _were engaged to each other. I began to feel sick again.

I stayed at the stern until the first streaks of dawn began to appear on the horizon. The sun making its way out of the deep, black waters. It occurred to me that the last time I had seen the sun I was about to give myself to Peeta. I cringed, feeling dirty again. I shifted and felt the soreness between my legs, evidence of our actions. I didn't think I could even call it _making love _anymore.

As I was just deciding that I should leave, I heard soft footsteps behind me. I whirled around, half-expecting to see Peeta there. But it was worse. It was Madge. The rising sun made her gown shimmer and her hair glow. She looked breathtaking – as much as I loathed to admit it.

I opened my mouth to begin spewing curses and insults at her for betraying Gale the way she had, when she put her hands up defensively.

"Please," she began. "Please, just listen to me."

I could still feel my fury bubbling, but clamped my mouth shut.

She took this as a sign to continue and took a deep breath before she said, "Peeta wasn't lying to you. And I'm not lying to Gale."

I narrowed my eyes at her, indicating that I didn't believe her.

"I guess…I guess in a _way _Peeta and I are engaged. But not because we want to be. Our parents our forcing it on us. I like Peeta, but I love Gale. And I know Peeta loves you." Her blue eyes that almost matched Peeta's bore into mine. The conviction with which she spoke banished the thought from my mind that she was lying.

"If that's true," I said through gritted teeth. "Then why didn't he tell me?"

She sighed and looked out to the ocean where the sun had revealed more of itself above the ocean waters. "He was scared, Katniss."

"Scared of what?" I asked, incredulous.

"Of losing you."

"Why should he be afraid of losing me?"

"Well, I don't know you very well. But I know that if a man I had fallen in love with told me his parents were forcing him to marry someone else, I might walk away from him."

I considered Madge's words. She was right. I'm sure I would have done the same thing…but probably more angrily than Madge.

"He still should have told me," I mumbled stubbornly.

She bobbed her head. "I agree. But look at it from his perspective. He is completely in love with you. Don't walk away from him. It would ruin him. He's already lost a lot."

I understood the feeling of losing a lot. I thought about a future without Peeta in it, and realized I couldn't imagine it. In everything I pictured, he was there.

"What should I do?" I whispered.

Madge smiled gently at me, the bright hues of the sunrise making her eyes shine. "Go find him."

"But what about his mother?" I asked quietly, as if his mother was listening to our conversation.

Madge's smile fell. "Ugh…that woman." She paused for a moment, thinking. "It might be tricky to search him out. His mother will surely be watching him very closely now. You need to go somewhere only he can find you."

I felt a smile tug at my lips. "I know just the place."

Madge smiled back at me before she turned back to the sunrise.

"So, have you told Gale?" I asked. "About you and Peeta?"

Her eyes fell and she replied, barely above a whisper, "I am going to now."

I nodded. "Good."

"Will…will Gale leave me?" she asked timidly.

I considered a moment. "He might be angry at first. But I don't think he will leave you. Gale can be fiery, like me. But he's logical. He'll listen."

I could visibly see Madge's shoulders droop with relief.

We were silent once more as we gazed out at the sunrise, which was now casting bright colors across the dark waters.

"Well, I should be going," Madge said after several minutes.

I nodded. "Me too."

As she began to walk away, I called after her. "Madge!" She turned back to me. "Thank you," I said genuinely.

She smiled with a warmth that matched the sunrise and said, "Go find Peeta."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Sorry this is kind of a "filler" chapter, but it was necessary. And, anyway, if you've been paying attention to the dates, you know things aren't going to be dull for much longer...<em>**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Warning: Mature content ahead!**_

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Peeta~<em>**

The next morning when I joined Mother for breakfast, I couldn't even look at her without feeling bile rise in my throat. The smug smile she wore on her lips didn't help much.

I attempted to eat, but everything made me feel nauseated. So I just drank a few steaming cups of coffee, which helped some of the grogginess I was feeling after my sleepless night the night before.

I had lain in bed the whole night, tossing and turning. I tried to push away the dark void of my depression, but eventually I let it take me. The night was consumed with horrible thoughts of the future Mother had planned for me. I could see no hope.

I vaguely wondered how Madge was being persuaded to leave Gale and marry me. Undoubtedly, Mother had pulled some strings to get her way, and I was sure the Undersees went along with it.

The thought also crossed my mind how Mother had dealt with the embarrassment of finding her son in bed with a lower-class woman who wasn't his fiancée. But I realized I didn't really care. If Mother had anything else to worry about regarding the incident, she didn't let on. She must have pulled some more strings to get everyone to stay quiet.

I probably should have been humiliated to be caught like that. Naked, having just finished making love to Katniss. But again, I couldn't bring myself to care. The heartbreak I was experiencing was so much worse.

The rest of the day dragged on. I accompanied Mother to all of the meals, including tea, and stayed in my room in the suite between the meals. Crew workers had been posted outside of our suite, seemingly to repress any urges I might have had to leave and seek out Katniss.

As much as I wanted to find her and at least explain to her that what we had was real, I couldn't bear the thought of her getting arrested and losing everything. She was on the _Titanic _to build a new life in the States and I wasn't going to take that from her.

At supper that evening, Haymitch must have noticed that something was seriously wrong with me. When we joined the gentlemen for smoking and brandy once again, he approached me.

"What's wrong with you?" he whispered harshly. "Where's Katniss?"

I sat in the chair, staring straight ahead but not really seeing. "I don't know," I replied apathetically.

"What's going on, kid?" he demanded.

I finally looked up at him, meeting his eyes. He was staring at me intently with a look of confusion and slight concern on his face.

"Mother is forcing me to marry Madge. I can't see Katniss anymore," I whispered shakily.

"I thought we talked about this," he nearly growled. "You aren't going to let your mother control you anymore."

I told him about the bathing suit and how Mother threatened to have Katniss arrested if I didn't do what she wanted, and all the while Haymitch's scowl deepened.

"Damn that woman!" he whispered angrily. "So you haven't even talked to Katniss?"

I shook my head. "I wish I could. Even just to explain everything so that she knows I didn't betray her. But…" I stopped, looking up at the crew workers that Mother had sent to keep an eye on me.

Haymitch followed my gaze and I saw the realization dawn on him. "Give me a minute," he said vaguely as he rose from his seat and approached the crew workers.

I watched him curiously as he talked quietly with the crew workers and I saw something pass from Haymitch's hands to theirs. Then they left without another word or glance at me.

Haymitch turned around and approached me again as I looked at him in confusion. "What did you do?"

"You've got two hours. That's all I can give you for now," he said as he plopped back down in the chair and taking a gulp of his brandy.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and stared at him, rooted to the seat.

Haymitch looked at me like I was stupid, shooing me away. "Go! Time's ticking!"

I jumped to my feet and fled the room, not even bothering to bid the gentlemen goodnight.

* * *

><p>I felt like I searched all over the ship. I went to the General Room where the lower-class passengers were dancing but couldn't see Katniss anywhere. I searched through some of the cabins in steerage and I thoroughly explored the top deck, but I couldn't find her.<p>

I was sure it had been an hour already. I ground my teeth in frustration.

Then as the sun rises and illuminates the darkness of the ocean waters, the realization of where she could be dawned on me.

Without wasting any more time, I made my way there as quickly as possible. And when I opened the door to the small, private deck where we had our picnic last night, she was there.

She was leaning against the railing, facing the ocean. It seemed I always found her this way. But it never ceased to steal my breath and make my heart race. The moonlight reflected on her dark hair and the chilly wind tugged at the skirts of her dress.

"Katniss…" I breathed, thinking she hadn't heard me.

But her body went rigid and she slowly turned toward me. I expected her to yell at me, be angry with me, or even leave, but the look on her face was the complete opposite.

I rushed to her and gathered her in my arms. "Katniss, I'm so sorry. So so sorry."

Her arms wrapped around my torso and held me tight as I kissed the top of her head. I started to explain that I hadn't lied to her, when she cut me off.

"Madge explained everything," she said softly, looking up at me.

My eyes widened. "You talked to Madge?"

She smiled softly and nodded. "I believe you, Peeta." Her face fell. "Where's your Mother?"

I felt a lump rise in my throat, remembering that I only had a brief time with her. I explained to her about the bathing suit and I saw tears develop in her eyes when I told her how Mother would require her arrest if I didn't do what she wanted.

"I'm sorry," I whispered again, leaning my forehead against hers and closing my eyes. "I don't know what else to do."

She was quiet and unmoving for a moment before suddenly I felt her lips gently brush against mine. I returned the kiss with more urgency. All of the desperation that I had felt before conveying itself in this kiss.

She responded equally until we were lost in each other's mouths and our panting breaths became mingled in the space between us.

I backed her up against the wall that partially enclosed the deck and pushed my hips into hers, wanting her to feel my desire for her. She responded by wrapping her arms around my neck.

I began trailing kisses down her neck and gently licked her skin, causing her to shiver and moan softly. I let my hands run across her clothed breasts, feeling her hardened nipples through her dress. I kneaded her breasts as I continued licking and sucking her neck.

But suddenly she surprised me by stroking me through my pants. I gasped, caught off guard and reveled in the pleasure. When she reached her hand down into my pants to continue stroking me, the rest of my restraint fell away.

I wrapped my arms underneath her buttocks and hoisted her up so she was pinned between me and the wall. Her legs wrapped around my waist and I pushed my manhood into her core causing her to moan loudly.

"Peeta," she said urgently, between kisses.

All the blood in my body seemed to rush to my groin as I shifted her dress around her hips and managed to maneuver – or possibly tear away – her undergarments until I had access to her. Feeling how ready she was for me with my fingers, I quickly unbuttoned my pants and let my arousal spring free.

When I entered her, she wrapped her legs around me tighter, leaned her head back against the wall, and breathed out, "Peeta."

I urgently thrust into her. The idea of making love to her deeply and slowly not crossing my mind, even though it probably should have since this would be the last time I would get to do this with her.

But I felt so desperate to have her just one more time, that my passion and urgency overcame my tenderness. She didn't seem to mind, though, as she met my thrusts and dug her nails into my back. This new angle was intoxicating for us both. I felt like a wild animal unleashed.

Suddenly, without even touching that spot that brought her such pleasure, she cried out and I felt her walls constrict around me, pulling me deeper into her. High on her release, I felt my own suddenly overtake me as I moaned loudly and thrust a few more times, shuddering as I emptied myself inside of her.

I slowly eased her down from where I held her against the wall, pulling out of her, and laid my forehead against hers as we caught our breath.

It suddenly hit me that my time was almost up. I tucked myself back into my pants and readjusted them as I reluctantly looked into her eyes, which were swimming with tears. My own vision went blurry.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss. But I have to go. I can't let you get arrested," I whispered as I caressed her cheek.

She nodded, closing her eyes and swallowing as a few tears escaped the corners of her eyes.

"I won't forget you," she said, barely above a whisper.

"I could never forget you," I replied, kissing her deeply.

When we broke the kiss, I looked into her eyes and whispered, "I love you, Katniss."

She smiled gently. "I love you too."

My heart leaped for joy at hearing those words, but a fresh lump formed in my throat with the knowledge that I couldn't even be with this woman whom I loved. Who loved me.

I gave her one last, lingering kiss, hoping that it conveyed every single thing I felt for her. And then I walked toward the door that led back into the ship.

I looked back at her one last time, committing to memory the way she looked in the moonlight with the shimmering ocean waves behind her. Then I opened the door and closed it behind me.

**_~Katniss~_**

I watched Peeta close the door behind him as I remained on our deck. I studied the floorboards as if they would relay the memories of our love-making sessions here so I could completely commit them to my memory.

I felt the absence of him down below, but could also feel the evidence of having him there. I felt empty. My very body needed him to complete it.

I felt tears slip from my eyes, but they seemed to freeze in their tracks on my cheeks. The air seemed even colder tonight.

* * *

><p>I don't know how long I stayed on the deck, trying to contain the deep grief I was feeling. How would I ever move on from Peeta? Where before I had been excited to dock in the States and start my new life, I now only felt gloom. The idea of a future without Peeta was enough to wrench a few sobs from my throat.<p>

Why did everyone I loved get ripped away from me?

Time slipped by as I gazed out at the dark waters. I wasn't even registering what I was seeing, lost as I was in my sad thoughts, until the monotony of the ocean waters suddenly

changed.

Vaguely interested, I squinted, focusing on what seemed to be a large shape in the distance. As it drew nearer and nearer, I began to hear shouting from somewhere on the boat. The shouting seemed to be above me – possibly the people in the crow's nest.

The shouts seemed urgent and without even knowing why, I began to feel panic swell in my chest.

What _was_ that ahead of us?

The cold air seemed to be even colder and I began shivering, slowly backing away from the railing as the shape loomed ahead. I was beginning to realize with dread that the ship was going to hit it.

With that realization I became rooted to where I stood. My instincts were telling me to flee, but I had some sick sense of curiosity that needed to be satisfied.

The ship was getting closer and closer when suddenly it seemed to turn, putting the shape slightly to the starboard side. Finally, it was close enough that I could see what it was.

An iceberg.

My eyes widened at its size. But it seemed my panic had been for naught as the iceberg was well on the starboard side now. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking we had narrowly evaded danger, when suddenly there was a slight shudder that rumbled through the ship.

I stood rooted to the deck, holding my breath as if waiting for the ship to crumble. After several moments of nothing happening, I breathed again. I began to shake, a combination of the cold and the relief I felt and decided I should probably go back inside.

I made my way down to steerage until I was back in my room. Johanna and Annie were gone, I assumed dancing. I curled up on my bed and burrowed under the blankets, feeling the grief overcome me once again.

I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>APRIL 15, 1912<strong>

**MIDNIGHT**

It must have only been a few minutes since I had fallen asleep when I was reawakened by a crew worker barging into the room and flicking on the lights. I registered him saying something about a life jacket but wasn't awake enough to catch all of it.

As I became more aware of the reality around me instead of the reality of my nightmares, Johanna and Annie came into the room.

"Hey!" Johanna barked at me. "I haven't seen you in a while." She paused, noting the grief etched in the lines of my face. "What's wrong with you?"

"Katniss, are you alright?" Annie asked in a tone so kind and contradictory to Johanna's that it was almost laughable.

I looked up at them, feeling the evidence of dried tears on my cheeks.

Both of them suddenly looked concerned and sat down as I reluctantly told them what happened with Peeta.

They both listened silently and intently until I had finished and Johanna remarked, "What a bitch!" in regards to Peeta's mother.

I could tell Annie was trying to think of something encouraging to say in contrast to Johanna's remark when we heard crew workers ordering people to put on their life jackets.

We all narrowed our eyes and shared confused looks.

"Why do we have to put on our life vests?" Annie asked us quietly.

"Maybe it's a drill," Johanna suggested.

I shrugged but then my eyes widened as I thought about the iceberg and the shudder of the ship earlier. Could we have hit the iceberg? I shivered, as if I actually were on the iceberg itself, but then dismissed the idea. The _Titanic _was unsinkable, there was nothing to worry about.

Nonetheless, all three of us donned our life jackets, helping each other, and went out into the hall where other steerage passengers were gathering.

We made our way through the swelling crowd of people until we found Gale and Finnick.

"There you are!" Gale hollered when he saw me, giving me a quick hug as best he could with both of us wearing our life jackets.

"Hello," I replied simply.

Gale's eyes narrowed. "I need to talk to you," he whispered so that only I could hear him.

I nodded, not meeting his eyes, knowing exactly what he wanted to talk about.

I glanced up at the people around me as the space seemed to become smaller and smaller. I noticed Finnick hovering close to Annie protectively. I felt a pang of jealousy at them for being able to be together.

"What's going on?" Johanna asked looking at Gale and Finnick.

"I don't know," Gale answered. "Let's go to the top deck and see if we can find out."

We all silently agreed and followed Gale through the maze of bodies until we were out of the stifling smell of sweat and body odor and into the fresh night air.

Even though the fresh air was a relief, it was unbelievably cold. We all began shivering immediately and huddled close together to stay warm.

Crew workers were rushing around us chaotically as I noticed that people of the upper class were strolling along the deck in their own life jackets.

I secretly hoped I would see Peeta but had no such luck.

Suddenly I felt Gale tugging on my arm, pulling me slightly away from the rest of our group. I looked up at him, waiting for him to ask the question.

He sighed deeply then finally asked it in a hushed voice. "So is it true?" He paused, closing his eyes. "About Madge and Peeta?"

I slowly nodded my head. "Did Madge talk to you?"

He nodded, not meeting my eyes. "Yes. But one minute she's telling me that she doesn't want to marry Peeta, it's being forced upon her by their parents, and then the next minute she's telling me she lied…that she _does _want to marry him."

Gale stopped, rubbing his hands over his face. I knew he was trying to hide the hurt that was surely reflecting in his eyes.

I realized that Peeta's mother must have done something to manipulate Madge as well – to make her say that to Gale. I was good at reading people and I knew she wasn't lying when I had talked to her before.

Not wanting to see Gale so hurt I told him about what had happened with Peeta's mother and the bathing suit. Gale listened intently, his silver eyes boring into my own. Even though I knew he would still be heartbroken over not being able to be with Madge, at least he would know that she really did love him and hadn't betrayed him.

He was silent for a long time before he finally said, "How do you think they convinced her to stay away from me?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. But if you knew Peeta's mother, it wouldn't be too hard to believe that she can control people with a snap of her fingers."

Gale nodded, resigned.

"I'm sorry, Gale," I whispered.

He looked up at me, putting both hands on my shoulders and stared straight into my eyes. "This is not your fault," he began. "This is Peeta's mother. And we'll find a way to make this work."

"How?" I asked when I was suddenly interrupted by a loud whooshing sound and saw an orange flame shooting up into the sky.

"What is that?" I asked absentmindedly.

Gale gazed at the flame until it began to sink back down toward the ocean waters. "It's a distress rocket," he said as if in disbelief.

Just then I heard several crew workers shouting to be heard over a group of upper class passengers. "Women and children only!" they were shouting.

I watched, trying to fit the pieces together, as I saw women and children step into a lifeboat and crew workers began to lower it in a chaotic fashion.

I looked at Gale to see if he understood what was happening. "Katniss," he said, turning to me with a look of realization, disbelief, and something else I rarely saw in his eyes - fear. "This ship is going to sink."


	13. Chapter 13

**_~Peeta~_**

When I went back to the suite after my last rendezvous with Katniss, the crew workers Haymitch had paid off earlier were already back, waiting outside the door to the suite. Mother wasn't back yet, though. I assumed she was still out with some of the other upper class women, gossiping and wedding planning.

I chose to push away the thoughts of Mother wedding planning. As I plopped down on my bed, I let thoughts of making love to Katniss fill my mind. The way she breathed my name and drew in labored breaths as I pleasured her, how her dark hair looked like melted chocolate splayed out beneath her head, the look on her face when she reached her release…how tight and wet and warm she felt as I moved inside of her.

Even though the darkness of my future loomed on the edges of my thoughts, I chose to dwell on these thoughts of Katniss. And eventually I was able to fall asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>APRIL 15, 1912<strong>

**MIDNIGHT**

I was awoken some time later by a loud knocking on the suite door. Still in the clothes I had worn for supper, I didn't bother putting on a robe. I dragged myself out of bed and exited my bedroom at the same time as Mother exited hers. She must have come back while I was asleep. She was wrapping a robe around herself and was clearly not pleased about being awoken at this hour.

She marched over to the door and flung it open where a crew worker was standing.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mother demanded.

"Pardon me, ma'am, but you must put on your life jacket and go to the top deck," the crew worker said, seeming unoffended by Mother's temper.

"Why?" Mother replied sharply.

"Captain's orders, ma'am. And I suggest you dress warmly." Then he walked away to begin knocking on the door to the next suite.

Mother turned around to face me and huffed. "This is ridiculous. Why would they perform drills in the middle of the night?"

I shrugged as the memory of Haymitch's concern over the number of lifeboats briefly crossed my mind. But I pushed the thought away. Surely, this was only a drill.

"Well, I am at least going to dress properly before we go up there," Mother said as she headed back to her bedroom to change.

After a few minutes, Mother was dressed and both of us had donned our life jackets. I led her through the maze of hallways, noting the other confused passengers wearing their life jackets.

When we had finally reached the top deck, many other passengers had made their way there as well. I looked around at the people, noting their faces. Some, mostly those of the upper class, seemed unconcerned as they strolled about the deck. I noticed there were very few lower class passengers.

As my thoughts went to Katniss my heart began to pound. If this was a drill, shouldn't the lower-class passengers be here as well? My thoughts went to the lifeboats again. There wasn't enough for everyone…did that mean the lower-class passengers would be left behind if the ship was sinking?

I felt panic swell in my chest. I prayed to God that this was just a drill. This ship was unsinkable right?

Suddenly, I saw Haymitch himself approaching me, noticing he wasn't wearing a life jacket. Mother was too caught up in complaining about the situation with some other upper class women to protest to my talking with him.

"Haymitch, what's going on?" I asked urgently.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. Lowering his voice he said, "The ship struck an iceberg. It's going to sink."

He said it so matter-of-factly that it took me a moment to register the horror of what he said. I blinked several times, gaping.

"What? But this ship is unsinkable – " I began to uselessly protest but he cut me off.

"It's not unsinkable, kid. It's sinking now. Where's Katniss?"

"I-I don't know. We went our separate ways after we met up earlier. I wasn't planning on seeing her again…"

"You need to find her," Haymitch said sternly, piercing me with his gaze and gripping my arm so tightly it hurt.

"But Mother –"

"Do you really think the crew workers are concerned about arresting people now?" he interrupted harshly.

I swallowed and shook my head as I hardened my resolve. I had to find Katniss.

Just then a crew worker began shouting for women and children only to board a lifeboat. Clearly oblivious to the direness of the situation, Mother and her group of pampered hens hesitated, seemingly disgusted by the notion of getting on a lifeboat.

"Get on the lifeboat, Mother," I urged her, pulling away from Haymitch.

Mother looked at me, confused. "I don't understand why they are going through all of this trouble just for a drill."

"It's not a drill," I practically growled. "The ship is going to sink, Mother."

Mother stared at me, her blue eyes wide with fear. The women around her must have heard me because they all began to talk in high-pitched frantic voices. The crew workers began ushering them into the lifeboat as I looked on.

Mother looked back at me as she stepped onto the lifeboat. "You'll get on a lifeboat too, won't you?"

It was the first time in my entire life that Mother had sounded genuinely concerned about me. I actually felt a pang of regret, staring into her wide glassy eyes, realizing this may, in fact, be the last time I ever see her.

"I'll try, Mother." I did my best to give her a reassuring smile and waved at her as the lifeboat was lowered out of sight.

When I could no longer see her, the urgency of the situation came crashing back down on me. I had to find Katniss. What if they had contained her in steerage with the other lower-class passengers?

I began to franticly search the upper deck, just in case there was a chance she could be up here. I called for her, Haymitch hot on my heels. His concern was making me more alarmed.

The deck continued to swell with people as more and more passengers were beginning to realize what was happening. The _Titanic _wasn't unsinkable after all.

People were pushing and shoving, children were crying, crew workers were trying unsuccessfully to organize the chaos and get passengers into lifeboats. The horror of it all threatened to swallow me whole, but my determination to find Katniss kept me focused.

After I was sure that I had searched the entire top deck, the dread that she was trapped in steerage began to settle in.

"Would she still be in steerage?" I asked Haymitch breathlessly.

"I heard they're trying to contain the lower-class passengers to make sure all the upper-class passengers get on lifeboats first," Haymitch replied gravely.

I shook my head at the injustice of it all as I quickly made my way below deck and toward steerage.

When we finally reached the staircases that led to steerage, I stopped dead in my tracks. There were gates locked in place at the top of the stairwells. The passengers trapped on the other side were screaming obscenities at the crew workers that held the keys before them.

I stood in front of the gates, asking if anyone had seen Katniss and yelling her name. No one had seen her – no one really seemed to care – and when I didn't hear her calling back to me, I spun toward Haymitch, feeling the panic taking over.

"Haymitch, what do we do?" I cried, feeling my body begin to tremble with the fear that I wouldn't find her.

"Maybe she went looking for you," Haymitch replied, turning to go back to the upper-class suites.

As we made our way to my suite, I felt as if I were walking uphill. When I looked up the hall and back behind me, I noticed the ship was leaning. I swallowed as the reality of the situation began to settle in further.

The _Titanic _was really sinking. As if to remove any remaining doubts I had, the lights flickered. Haymitch barely even seemed to notice as he stormed toward my suite.

When we reached it, I noticed the door was open. Had Mother and I left it open before?

I entered the room and nearly ran straight into Katniss, Gale, and Madge.

"Peeta!" Katniss cried, throwing her arms around me and hugging me so tightly I could barely breathe.

"Katniss," I breathed out in relief, wrapping an arm around her waist and moving the other hand up to her head to hold her to me. I could feel her trembling as we held each other.

I pulled back to look at her. Her silver eyes were filled with fear and tears.

"You scared me to death!" she said in a shaky voice before kissing me with trembling lips.

I kissed her back. "I was so afraid I wouldn't find you. What are you doing here?"

"Gale found Madge and asked where you were and she didn't know. We've been searching everywhere for you," she replied.

"We've been looking everywhere for _you_!" I motioned between Haymitch and me.

"What do we do?" Katniss asked hopelessly. "The ship is sinking, Peeta!"

I looked to Gale and Madge, who were holding hands, standing behind Katniss, and back at Haymitch who was standing behind me.

"You ladies need to get on a lifeboat," Haymitch said, indicating Katniss and Madge. "They're taking women and children."

Madge noticeably clung to Gale and Katniss to me.

"What about Gale and Peeta?" Madge asked.

Gale and I looked at each other knowingly. I could see in his eyes what I was coming to realize myself – we weren't getting off of this ship. But we exchanged looks of determination to get Katniss and Madge off of the ship.

"We'll figure it out," Gale replied.

The lights suddenly flickered again and the ship groaned loudly.

"Let's get going." Haymitch motioned for us to follow him.

The hallways were completely empty as we made our way back to the top deck. But the chaos we faced when we finally did reach the top deck was overwhelming. People were packed so tightly on the deck that it was difficult to move, and the cries and screams of panic were deafening. Yet somewhere in the distance, I could hear music playing. Smooth, clear, and lively. Such a contrast to the horror that was upon us.

The ship was now noticeably leaning toward the bow as the lower levels filled with the icy cold seawater. Panic threatened to overtake me again when I saw the passengers clawing their way to the lifeboats. How would we get Katniss and Madge on one?

We made our way to the side of the ship and looked over the railing toward the direction from where the lifeboats were being launched. I could see a few lifeboats already in the water.

Haymitch must have seen them too because he said, "There's not enough lifeboats for all of the passengers on board and they're not even filling them up all the way."

I realized he was right. Mr. Andrews had said that each lifeboat could hold about 60 people and most of them I could see weren't even half full.

Katniss and Madge were huddled together behind Gale, Haymitch, and me as we quietly discussed our plan of action.

"You have to get those girls on a lifeboat now," Haymitch urged.

"How? There are so many people. And most of the crew workers won't even let lower-class passengers on." Gale sounded so hopeless.

"I'll go with you. Come on," Haymitch replied, pushing his way through the crowd.

When we reached an empty lifeboat, Haymitch approached the crew worker in charge of it and whispered something to him. When they both looked toward Katniss and Madge, the crew worker nodded and motioned for the two of them to step on board.

Madge hugged Gale and kissed him deeply before she stepped gingerly onto the lifeboat.

"I'll see you soon," Gale called after her. I tried not to flinch at the lie.

Katniss then approached Gale and hugged him tightly. I heard him mumble something quietly to her and she nodded in response, but I couldn't quite catch what he said.

Then Katniss turned from Gale to look at me. Her stormy silver eyes were so full of fear that it broke my heart. The _Titanic _was supposed to be something wonderful for her, an exciting memory, a ray of hope in the darkness of her losses. But now it was another tragedy in her life. A very dire tragedy.

I embraced her tightly and gave her a deep, desperate kiss, holding her face in my hands and feeling her tears wet my cheeks. "I don't want to leave you," she whispered.

"You aren't leaving me. I'll see you again soon," I whispered back, leaning my forehead against hers and closing my eyes so that they didn't betray my inner turmoil.

When she finally pulled away and stepped onto the lifeboat she said, "You better find a lifeboat, Peeta Mellark. You promised you'd stay with me after we got off this ship."

I smiled despite the situation and tried to nod reassuringly. But after other women and children of both classes had boarded the lifeboat, and it was lowering down to the dark waters below, I knew I would break that promise.


	14. Chapter 14

**1:30 AM**

**_~Katniss~_**

I watched Peeta until the lifeboat I was in was lowered out of sight. He was trying to put on a brave face so that I wouldn't worry, but I wasn't stupid. And I knew Madge wasn't either. We both were very aware that we may never see Gale or Peeta again.

I realized in that moment that I might be losing the last two people in the world that I loved. But I pushed the thought away, refusing to let the grief and panic cloud my thoughts. At least I wasn't completely alone…Madge was here. I half expected her to cry and panic like a lost little girl, but she hadn't shed a tear. It was obvious that she was distressed, but she was holding herself together and that helped me hold myself together.

I wondered what had happened to Johanna, Finnick, and Annie. I felt slightly guilty for not trying to find them. But last I had seen, they were on the top deck and not trapped in steerage like the rest of the lower-class passengers. I hoped they had found their way onto lifeboats, even though I was sure that Finnick was in the same situation as Gale and Peeta and all of the other men on the ship were in.

When Gale had told me that the ship was sinking, I didn't believe him. I had stared at him, dumbfounded. But as his words sunk in, the pieces of the puzzle fit together. The iceberg, the life jackets, the lifeboats, the distress rocket…all of those things did not mean a mere drill.

Once the shock had worn off, my first thought was Peeta. I had to find him. If this ship was going to sink, I wanted to at least be with him. I doubted the crew workers cared much for arresting people any more. And with a situation like this, it made all of my other problems seem small – including Peeta's mother.

I felt like I had searched the entire ship for him. I ran around the top deck calling for him, Gale just behind me searching for Madge, but our cries were drowned out by the mass of people that was now crowding the deck. We went to their suites but found them empty. Then we made our way down to steerage but stopped once we saw the crew workers had contained the lower-class passengers behind locked gates that blocked the stairwells. We called for Peeta and Madge in vain there too.

We decided to check their suites again when we had run into Madge. She had been looking for Gale too. After she and Gale had embraced and apologies were exchanged, I became impatient and frantic and demanded to know where Peeta was. Madge didn't know, but said she wouldn't be surprised if he was looking for me. So we made our way back to his suite once again where he found us.

When I saw him rush into the suite with wide eyes, his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, panting as if he had just run for several miles, I felt a relief that I had never known before. But as happy as I was to see him again, the relief was short-lived. We were facing a dire situation that I had no idea how to escape from.

I wasn't planning to leave him. I had planned to refuse a lifeboat and stay with him. But the look in his eyes when he told me to get on the lifeboat made it impossible for me to deny him. I could tell that he wanted me to get on the lifeboat with every single fiber of his being. It was like his dying wish. He wanted me to survive, even though he was accepting the fact that he wouldn't.

But I wasn't going to give up hope. Even though every other experience of my life was jeering at me, raging that hope was a futile and senseless thing, I couldn't give up on Peeta. Or Gale. The only reason I wasn't falling apart right now was because I was so desperately clinging to that hope that despair had no room in my thoughts or my heart.

I was suddenly shaken from my thoughts when I heard shrieks and loud cries coming from below our lifeboat. I quickly peered over the side to see that we were being lowered on top of another lifeboat.

We began yelling for our crew workers to stop while some other crew workers were furiously sawing at the ropes of the other lifeboat with knives. I felt completely helpless. I looked from side to side, looking for some way to help but couldn't see any. I peered back over the edge of the boat and saw that we were getting dangerously close to the boat below us, the women shrieking and ducking.

Suddenly the crew workers lowering our boat realized what was happening and stopped, giving the other crew workers the chance to cut the other boat loose. When the other boat had paddled a safe distance away, our boat began to lower again until we reached the dark, icy waters. I shivered as if the water below the boat were seeping into my body.

I looked back up at the ship, thinking maybe I would see Peeta and Gale, but they were nowhere to be seen. I convinced myself that that was a good thing, they were probably just searching for another lifeboat to board.

As the crew worker of our lifeboat paddled us away from the ship, the sight before us made me gasp out loud and made Madge cover her mouth with her hand.

The _Titanic_ – the glorious, majestic, unsinkable ship – was sinking. The bow was almost completely submerged below the surface of the waters and most of the portholes in the lowest parts of the ship were underwater.

The shrieks and cries of those still on the ship rose together in a single wail that drifted across the waters, wrapped my body in a haunting embrace, and clenched my heart. I was sure that if I lived past this night, that wail would find its way into my nightmares.

And Peeta and Gale were still on that ship. Tears formed in my eyes, blurring and merging the lights of the ship. This couldn't be real. This had to be a nightmare.

Just then, another lifeboat paddled toward ours and stopped a few feet away. I looked around at the people in my boat and in the other boat, committing to memory the faces of those who were witnessing this tragedy with me. All were women except for the couple of crew workers. I realized that while our boat was a mixture of upper- and lower-class women, the other boat held only upper-class women.

Many were whimpering and crying, burrowing themselves into their expensive fur coats as if that would shield them from the tragedy before them. I glanced at Madge and felt slightly grateful toward her for not sniveling the way the other upper-class women were.

"Madge!" a familiar voice suddenly cried out from the other lifeboat.

Madge jumped and looked in the direction of the voice. As if my heart couldn't sink any further – there was Peeta's mother. Some of the other women looked up in curiosity.

"Madge! Oh, thank God! We were so worried about you!" Mrs. Mellark cried.

Madge glanced at me and shivered, but didn't respond to Mrs. Mellark. I briefly looked over at Mrs. Mellark, which I realized was a mistake. She immediately recognized me.

"You!" she yelled. "What are you doing with _her_?" she demanded of Madge.

"Mrs. Mellark," Madge began in a calm voice. "Even if your son makes it off that ship, I'm not marrying him."

Peeta's mother began sputtering, but Madge continued. "He's not in love with me and I'm not in love with him. He loves Katniss. And I love Gale."

"How dare you?" Mrs. Mellark screeched. "You would break our deal then? You wouldn't mind if I soiled your family name by telling everyone that you slept with a lower-class man?"

So that was how she had manipulated Madge. I was slightly surprised that Gale and Madge had slept together, but that feeling was overwhelmed by the disgust I felt toward Mrs. Mellark.

"Enough!" I cried, surprising Mrs. Mellark and myself. "You are so concerned about your precious future, that you don't even realize your son, _whom your future depends upon_, may not even survive the night!" I felt my throat constrict as tears welled up in my eyes again. "You are a selfish, horrible woman who only cares about what you want! People are going to _die _tonight! Don't you understand?"

The silence that came as her response was satisfactory enough for me. Whether I had stunned her into silence or made her feel guilty, I wasn't sure, but she didn't respond.

The only sound that could now be heard was that single wail of those still on the sinking ship.


	15. Chapter 15

**1:30 AM**

**_~Peeta~_**

Gale, Haymitch, and I remained rooted to the spot on the deck where we stood, even after the lifeboat carrying Katniss and Madge was lowered out of sight.

I felt as if time was standing still. The chaos around me became a hazy blur, the loud and panicky voices were muffled, the cold air lost its bite. All I could feel was the emptiness in my chest and the looming grief and panic that threatened to overwhelm me.

A distress rocket being fired into the sky shook me out of my daze. I turned to Haymitch, hoping he would provide some sort of guidance as to what to do next. Instead, he drew a flask out of his pocket and took a long swig.

Seeing him so resigned made my heart sink. He was also accepting his fate.

I looked at Gale, who was still gazing in the direction where Katniss and Madge had been lowered out of sight. His jaw was clenched and he had a look of sheer determination in his eyes.

"Gale?" I said, hoping that the look of determination meant something.

He turned to me, the raging storm in his silver eyes taking me aback. "We should release the lower-class passengers."

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"They're being contained, locked-up in steerage like animals," he seethed. "They deserve a fighting chance as much as the upper-class."

While I completely agreed with him, I had not been expecting him to say that. I expected him to present some plan of action to get on a lifeboat, or to share an idea about how to survive. The fact that he wanted to release the lower-class passengers showed that he had given up on himself. He wasn't planning to survive. I willed his determination to ebb into me.

Haymitch didn't protest, so I nodded in agreement and followed as he led us back to steerage.

When we got there, it was no different than it had been earlier. The lower-class passengers on the other side of the locked gates of the stairwells were still screaming, begging to be set free. The stench of sweat in the air reeked of desperation.

The crew workers charged with this disdainful job stood before the gates, stern looks on their faces, and keys on their belts. I felt bile rise up in my throat from the revulsion I felt toward these crew workers.

Gale didn't waste any time. He immediately stormed up to one of the crew workers and slammed him into a wall.

"Let them free!" he demanded.

I thought the crew worker would give some sort of resistance, but his eyes only widened in fear and he shakily removed his keys from his belt. Haymitch and I took the keys from the other crew workers before they bolted up the stairs. Whether they were going to tell their superiors what had happened or were running from the mob of angry passengers, I wasn't sure, but either way, it was a good thing they left.

Gale, Haymitch, and I rifled through the keys, trying them until we found the correct ones to unlock the gates. As the lower-class passengers flooded out of the stairwells, a few of them stopped to thank us, shaking our hands and wishing us luck. I wished them the same, hoping that I sounded more convincing than I felt.

I looked down one of the now empty stairwells where seawater was now creeping up the steps. My eyes widened as I stared at the icy blue water, white froth on the surface as it churned and rushed to swallow the ship.

Gale and Haymitch came up next to me and looked down the stairwell too.

"Won't be much longer now," Haymitch muttered, taking another swig from his flask. "You two best start looking for a lifeboat."

Gale and I exchanged glances.

"What about you?" I asked.

Haymitch waved his hand as if he were actually brushing off my concern. "Don't worry about me. They can give my seat on a lifeboat to someone else more deserving."

I stared at him, momentarily unsure of how to respond. "You have a seat on a lifeboat?"

Haymitch nodded. "When you're the owner of Capitol Coal, people know who you are." He looked warily at Gale and I realized that he had just revealed to Gale who he was.

I glanced at Gale who just stared at Haymitch as if he weren't sure that he had heard correctly. "Capitol Coal?" he asked, finally breaking the tense silence.

Haymitch nodded, taking another drink. "That's right. Your father worked for me. And your uncle."

Rage fired in Gale's eyes. I anticipated his actions, however, and held him back as he lunged at Haymitch. The amount of strength required to restrain him was almost more than I had.

"It was your fault they all died!" Gale bellowed, red-faced. "Your fault they got sick!"

Haymitch's face fell with the guilt and grief I'm sure he felt at hearing those words. "I know," he said quietly. "You have every right to hate me. And now it's my fault too that you're in this situation."

Confusion flickered in Gale's stormy eyes.

Haymitch saw it and continued, "I knew your boss. I told him to convince you to buy tickets for the _Titanic_. I gave him the money to pay you so you could afford them. I knew it wouldn't replace your losses, but I thought it might help."

Gale's anger slowly deflated and I hesitantly released him. "You're not guilty for this," he said so quietly I barely heard him.

Haymitch met Gale's eyes and an understanding passed between them. An unspoken forgiveness.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get the two of you onto a lifeboat. Getting your girls on one was the best I could do," Haymitch stated.

"That's more than enough," I replied. "What did you say to the crew worker in charge of their lifeboat?"

"I told him who I was," Haymitch said simply, taking a gulp from his flask.

Gale and I nodded in understanding.

"Do me a favor," Haymitch said. "Walk with me to the Grand Staircase. Then at least try to save yourselves."

Gale and I silently agreed and began making our way toward the Grand Staircase when suddenly I thought I heard crying behind me. I stopped in my tracks as Gale and Haymitch continued walking ahead of me. If they hadn't heard it, maybe I hadn't really heard anything either. I continued walking when I heard the cry again.

I spun around and followed the sound. It led me back to one of the stairwells leading down to steerage. There, sitting on one of the steps alone, without a life jacket, was a little boy. Probably only four or five years old.

My heart clenched at the sight of his twisted face, glassy eyes, and the tears streaming down his cheeks. I knew I couldn't leave him behind.

I tentatively approached him so as not to startle him. As I neared him, he jerked his head in my direction. His gaze locked on mine. He had crystalline blue eyes that shone brighter with his tears and shaggy blonde hair. He was shivering.

He shrunk away from me as I bent down to be more level with him.

"It's alright," I said calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Peeta."

He looked at me for a moment as if he were seeing if he could really trust me. Then he said cautiously, "I'm Matthew."

"Where are your parents, Matthew?"

"I don't know," he replied miserably.

"Oh," I swallowed. "When did you last see them?"

"Before bed. I think they went for a walk."

I thought for a moment and realized his parents must have avoided the containment of the lower-class passengers and been kept from their son. The sense of dread I began to feel as I thought about trying to find the boy's parents in the chaos above was overwhelming.

"Alright, well first of all, I think you need to put this on," I said as I removed my life jacket and placed it on him, adjusting the straps. It was much too large for his small frame, but if either of us ended up in the water, I knew he didn't stand a chance without it.

I couldn't swim either, but he was a child. And I had already accepted my fate.

"Now, how about you come with me, Matthew? I'll help you find your parents," I finally said, holding out my hand.

He stared at me again before reluctantly taking my hand. I realized that the water had crept further up the steps. It was more than half way up the stairwell now. I tried to be patient as his little legs struggled to carry him up the steep steps, but by the time we reached the top of the stairwell, I was carrying him.

Haymitch and Gale were waiting for me, looking at me sternly.

"How did you find him?" Gale asked.

"I heard him crying. He can't find his parents," I replied slightly defensively.

They both nodded and then we began making our way toward the Grand Staircase again, the ship groaning and creaking the entire way. The lean of the ship becoming steeper and steeper with every step.

Matthew clung to me, the cold of his icy fingers seeping into my skin through my shirt. But he wasn't crying anymore. My heart ached at the thought of his chances of survival.

By the time we reached the beautiful staircase, we were trudging through water up to our shins. The water felt like pins and needles pricking my skin.

When Haymitch reached the bottom of the staircase he paused, lowering his head and letting out a breath.

"Why did you want us to bring you here?" Gale asked, looking warily at the glass dome above us.

"It's the only place on the ship that brings me peace," Haymitch answered quietly, gazing around at the intricate and elaborate details of the architecture surrounding us.

"Why is that?" I questioned, shifting Matthew to my other hip.

But I never got to hear the answer to my question. More seawater began to rush in, as high as our hips.

I stifled a gasp at the shock of the cold water. Matthew whimpered close to my ear.

"Go," Haymitch ordered us. "You don't have much time."

Gale stuck out his hand and Haymitch shook it, a mutual sign of respect.

I felt hesitant to shake Haymitch's hand as I stared into his eyes. Knowing this was the last time I would see him, and that shortly his body would be buried with the ship at the bottom of the ocean, was surreal.

But I did extend my hand and he gripped it tightly as we shook.

"Thank you, Haymitch," I said sincerely. "For everything."

"Peeta," he began sternly. "If you survive…take care of Katniss."

I nodded purposefully. "I will."

Those were the last words I ever spoke to him.

As Gale, Matthew, and I made our way up the Grand Staircase, I noticed the clock carved on the wall indicated 1:55. Had it only been two hours since we were awoken by the crew workers ordering us to put on our life jackets?

We had just reached the first landing of the staircase when suddenly the glass dome above us shattered and water rushed in, knocking us off our feet.

Unable to catch myself since I was holding Matthew, I landed face-first on the hard marble floor. I must have momentarily blacked out because the next thing I knew, Gale was dragging me out of the onslaught of water.

When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry. I blinked to focus and then felt a dull pain in my forehead and nose. I tentatively reached up and touched my face, feeling something wet and warm. When I pulled my hand away, there was blood on my fingers.

I realized my nose was gushing blood and there was a gash on my forehead.

"Come on," Gale urged, pulling me to my feet.

"Wait! Matthew!" I cried, just then realizing that he was no longer with me.

"He's gone, Peeta." Gale held me back as I tried to return to the staircase. "He got washed back down the staircase. It's completely flooded. There's no way you'll find him."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was probably right. If the staircase had flooded, who knows where Matthew had gotten swept off to in the rush of water?

I ignored the ache I felt for having lost him when he had just been in my arms and pressed on with Gale, holding my hand up to my nose to keep the blood from gushing everywhere. I was pretty sure it was broken.

"Are you alright?" Gale asked looking uncharacteristically concerned as I stumbled along.

"Just a little dizzy. I'll be fine," I mumbled back through my hand.

It was nearly impossible to get back to the top deck. It felt as though we had to climb to get there for the steep angle of the ship. The bite of the frigid air was cruel, especially since I was already soaked with the icy seawater. The blood on my face seemed to freeze. But the racing of my heart kept me from shivering.

As we climbed the railing, looking for any remaining lifeboats, I noticed those that were already out in the water. But what drew my attention the most was the field of people in between the ship and the boats, swimming and trying to stay afloat in the frigid, black abyss of the ocean.

I stumbled more than once, still feeling dizzy from hitting my head before, but Gale didn't leave me behind. He pulled me along until we suddenly came across a small group of men trying to launch a collapsible lifeboat. It was much smaller than the other lifeboats, but most people weren't even trying to get on lifeboats anymore. They were climbing to the highest part of the ship, the stern, which was now well above the waters.

I turned my attention to the group of men still trying to launch the small lifeboat. Gale was trying to help and just as I was about to, the ship lurched, sinking further and throwing all of us overboard, along with the collapsible lifeboat.

I gasped as the cold water wrapped my body in its vice-like grip and I sucked in water. I coughed and sputtered, trying to stay afloat and rid my lungs of the water at the same time, but failing miserably.

I really couldn't swim, and the desperation for breath as the water clogged my lungs caused me to panic. I was quickly losing what little strength and energy I had left as I tried to keep my head above the water.

The amount of time I was spending beneath the surface was increasing and I was approaching the point of giving up and just letting the sea swallow me when two strong hands pulled me out of the water and onto something solid that was floating.

I retched, the water finally leaving my lungs and allowing me to breathe. As I drew in deep breaths, never having felt so grateful for oxygen in my life, I realized Gale was clinging to the piece of debris with me.

Once I had caught my breath Gale asked me, "You can't swim, can you?"

I shook my head, still catching my breath.

Gale looked thoughtful for a moment, then suddenly removed his life jacket, which was no easy task considering we were now in the water.

When he handed it out to me, I refused. "No, I can't take that. You need it."

"I can swim," he replied matter-of-factly.

I hesitated, but he thrust the life jacket toward me again, clearly not taking no for an answer.

He helped me put it on so that I wouldn't slip off of the debris, which I was thinking looked like part of a bench from the top deck. Once I had secured the life jacket around me, I looked around for the _Titanic _which was now behind me.

My eyes widened at the sight.

The front half of the ship was now so submerged that the back half would have been impossible to climb for the angle. The propellers were now well above the water, and I noticed one of the smoke stacks was beginning to sway.

Just then, the cables holding the smoke stack in place snapped and the huge thing plummeted toward the water. I watched in horror as the people in the water below it frantically tried to swim away but were caught in its wake.

While we weren't too close to it, the waters around us shifted and swayed with the aftershock of the collision.

My eyes remained glued to the _Titanic _as I watched the rest of the sinking unfold before me.

The lights on the ship flickered out, plunging those in and near the ship into darkness. The screams and cries echoing in the night and across the waters seemed to grow louder, the horror of the tragedy becoming so much more close and real in the darkness.

Suddenly, there was a loud groan and a crack that pierced the night, overcoming all of the other noises resounding in the zone of the sinking. I watched as the _Titanic _split in half, the first half now completely lost beneath the waters, plunging toward the ocean floor beneath us.

The back half of the ship remained horizontal, parallel with the waters until the place where it had split, gaping like an open wound, also began to fill with water.

In an unbelievably short amount of time, the stern was vertical. Completely straight up and down. If the sight wasn't so horrific, it might have been incredible seeing such a huge ship looming straight up and down above the water like that.

But then the back half of the ship began to sink too.

The ocean was greedy. It swallowed the people still on board, the propellers, and then finally, the stern, the place where Katniss and I had met and had our first kiss. It was all gone. The only evidence of there having ever been a great ship called the _Titanic_ sailing these waters, was the hundreds of people it left behind.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Go to<em>** _**the titanic-model website **_**_for more info on a collapsible lifeboat._**


	16. Chapter 16

**_~Peeta~_**

As the shock of seeing the black ocean swallow the _Titanic _began to wear off – at least as much as it could since I didn't think it was something I would ever forget – my other senses became heightened.

The raised voices of those in the water were so loud that I wanted to cover my ears. The screams, the crying, the prayers, the pleas for help clenched my heart with an icy fist. The sound of the cries was haunting. The stuff of nightmares. Something that would always stay with you.

I looked at Gale who still clung to the bench with me. He was pale, his white shirt was plastered to his body, his hair stuck to his forehead, his bottom lip was trembling slightly as he shivered, and – was that ice forming on his eyebrows?

That was when I began to register the cold. I realized my whole body was so tense from the icy water that my muscles began to ache. My lungs felt as if they were being constricted and it was becoming more difficult to move the longer I floated there, clinging to the bench. My breaths came out in labored white puffs between my now chattering teeth.

I looked out toward the lifeboats floating in the distance, wondering why they weren't coming back to help those of us in the water. Just the lifeboats I had seen before had so much more room to share. Was Katniss in one of the boats I could see now? Would she and Madge look for us? Or had they given up hope and assumed we were already dead?

My teeth chattered more loudly as I began to shiver violently.

"We sh-should move," I said in a shaky voice. "M-m-maybe that will w-warm us up."

Gale silently nodded as we tried to swim in the direction of the lifeboats. But we barely got to the edge of the mass of swimming passengers before we stopped. The energy it took just to swim a few yards was more than we had left. The frigid waters were slowly draining the warmth from our bodies, stealing our strength and determination.

We clung to the bench we had managed to drag with us, catching our breaths, which was difficult considering the temperature of the air.

"I c-can't feel m-my legs," Gale mumbled through his chattering teeth.

I realized I was losing the feeling in mine as well. But I did my best to keep kicking them, trying to keep my blood flowing so that it wouldn't freeze in my veins. My fingers were becoming increasingly stiff as well.

As we clung to the bench, time seemed to slow. The cries of the people in the waters around me becoming more and more distant. I closed my eyes and laid my head on the bench, trying to conjure up images of Katniss that kept me warm. Like laughing with her as we ate our picnic bathed in the glow of the sunset, watching her smile as we danced, the way her lips melted against mine when I kissed her, the heat between our bodies as we made love.

I became lost in the images and even thought I could feel the warmth seep into my body. My thoughts became my reality as the horrific one surrounding me faded away. I was somewhere in between daydreaming and sleeping when I felt cold fingers tap my cheek.

I groggily opened my eyes, finding it increasingly difficult to do so because of the frost now clinging to my lashes, and saw Gale staring at me, piercing me with his gaze.

"Stay awake," he commanded weakly, his throat too frozen to speak louder. "Don't fall asleep."

Too weak to respond, I kept my eyes locked on his face. His lips had turned blue and frost clung to his eyebrows, lashes, and the ends of his hair. I noticed he wasn't shivering anymore and realized I wasn't either. My body had gone numb. It wouldn't be much longer now…

"Stay alive," he whispered. "For her. Needs you. All she has." His words came out short and clipped.

I gathered the rest of my energy to reply, "She needs you too."

He barely shook his head. "Needs you more. Love her. Take care of her."

Seeing the pleading look in his eyes, I whispered, "I will." That was the second time tonight I had promised to take care of Katniss even though I had lost all hope of survival by now.

Too weak to say anything more, Gale's eyes were the only part of him that registered he heard me. I saw a look of gratitude pass through them and then resignation, as if he felt he could die now knowing that I promised to take care of Katniss. My heart clenched.

I tried to keep my eyes open and fixed on Gale's stare, but as time continued to pass, I lost the strength and the will to keep them open. I knew I was dying, my body succumbing to the cold. I would be another fatality of the _Titanic_, lost with all of the other souls who went down with the ship. I vaguely wondered if they would find my body.

I became lost in my dream world again, submerging myself in the warm memories of Katniss. I didn't notice when Gale slipped off of the bench. I was no longer aware of my surroundings. All I knew was that I was very tired, numb, and that the Katniss of my dreams was beckoning to me. I followed her.

**_~Katniss~_**

All of the women on and near my lifeboat silently watched, mouths gaping, as the stern of the _Titanic_ was swallowed by the sea.

The thought of it plunging toward the ocean floor, thousands of feet below us, made me shiver. Had Peeta and Gale still been on the ship? Or were they now floating in the waters with the hundreds of other people?

As the screams of the people struggling to swim in the distance drifted over the waters and reached my ears, the panic I had been trying to push back finally overwhelmed me.

What if Peeta was dead? What if Gale was dead? What if I was now alone in this world? What if no other ships found us and we remained in these lifeboats for days, shivering, hungry, slowly withering away to nothing, surrounded by floating corpses? The irony of that scenario was not lost on me. Those of us who had managed to get on a lifeboat could meet the same end as those who hadn't. Our deaths would just be drawn out. I began to debate which death was more preferable when I suddenly felt Madge's hand on my arm.

I must have been breathing rapidly because I realized my heart was racing.

"Are you alright?" Madge asked.

I looked into her eyes which were so full of fear and sorrow that I nearly broke down and wept. But I maintained my composure as I whispered, "Madge…what if they're dead?"

I saw tears gather in her eyes as she looked out to the mass of floating people.

"What if they're not?" she said so quietly I wasn't sure if I had heard her correctly. "What if they're still out there? Alive?" Her voice became urgent as she gripped my arms.

I stared at her for a moment, managing to push back the panic that had momentarily overwhelmed me. "We have to look for them," I said firmly. "If there's even a chance they're still alive…"

Madge nodded vigorously.

I carefully stood up on the lifeboat and turned to face the women who shared it with me.

"We have to look for survivors," I called out. "We have plenty of room. We could save more lives!"

When I got no response except for some whimpering and sniffing, Madge stood up next to me.

"People are dying out there!" she cried. "Your husbands, your sons, your brothers! We need to help those we can!"

"They'll swamp us," a woman stated.

I realized it was a woman on the other lifeboat – none other than Peeta's mother.

The rage I felt towards her in that moment nearly caused me to leap to the other lifeboat and strangle her right there.

"Your son could still be out there!" I screamed at her. "Don't you even care?!"

"He's dead," she said bitterly. "You said yourself he probably wouldn't survive the night."

"So you're just going to give up on him?" Madge seethed.

"We probably won't find him even if he is out there. The others will just swamp the boat," she stated apathetically.

Instead of wasting more time arguing with this selfish woman, I directed my attention to the women of my boat.

Most of them wouldn't meet my eyes, but suddenly the lone male crew worker said quietly, "You're right."

I stared at him in disbelief. Would he really go search for survivors? For Peeta and Gale? Hope was knocking on the door of my heart, but my heart was too afraid to let it in.

Before I could respond, he spoke loudly so the crew worker of the other lifeboat could hear him, "Row your boat closer to us. These women need to get on your lifeboat so we have more room for survivors."

The crew worker obeyed wordlessly as the women began to talk in hushed whispers. Whether they were afraid, angry, surprised, or all of the above, I couldn't tell, but I didn't care.

I looked at Madge who met my gaze. I saw hope fighting to come back in her eyes as well.

It took much longer than it should have for all of the women to board the other lifeboat, terrified as they were of slipping into the icy water. I was becoming impatient and could barely sit still.

Finally, Madge and I were the only ones left with the crew worker on our lifeboat.

"Ladies, I insist you get into the other lifeboat," he said gently.

"No," Madge and I said firmly together.

The crew worker stared at us and I saw understanding cross his face. "You're looking for someone," he stated.

"Two people, actually," Madge said quietly.

The crew worker didn't say another word as he began to paddle toward the mass of people.

As we drew closer, I noticed that it had gotten very quiet. Dread clenched my heart. Were we too late?

"Here," the crew worker said as he tossed a flashlight to me.

I quickly flicked it on and shone it on the unmoving people in the water before us, their life jackets keeping them afloat.

I swallowed back bile as I took in their faces. Pale, blue lips, frost in their hair, some with eyes open, unseeing. The people were mostly a mixture of upper class men dressed in their suits, and lower-class passengers. I saw smaller figures floating in the water, and avoided looking at them too closely, knowing they were children. I didn't think my already fragile heart could handle that.

As we began to row into the midst of the floating corpses and debris, the crew worker paddling carefully to avoid them with the oars, I called out, "Peeta! Gale!"

My cry rang out in the night, shattering the eerie silence. The only response was the echo that resounded off of the black waters. But we continued rowing, floating through the sea of corpses. My eyes searched for blonde and dark hair, but with the frost, it was hard to tell anyone's hair color.

Madge cried out with me as I moved the light over the faces of those around us. I didn't know how much time had passed, but the hope that had been trying to make its way into my heart wasn't even knocking anymore. We hadn't found a single passenger that was still alive. The chances of finding Peeta and Gale, let alone finding them alive, were becoming slimmer and slimmer. They might not even be out here. They might have still been on the ship…

"We waited too long," I heard the crew worker mumble gravely.

I mindlessly shone the flashlight about, tears blurring my vision, when suddenly Madge cried, "There!"

I blinked back the tears and shone the flashlight in the direction she was pointing. My heart caught in my throat as I realized I was looking at Peeta.

His head was lying on a piece of wood that was covered in frost. His hair, eyebrows, and lashes were coated in ice, his lips were blue, his face as white as the ice that clung to his hair. But what made my heart pound harder was the dark blood that was frozen to his forehead and his nose.

"Hurry!" I practically screamed at the crew worker as he rowed his way over to Peeta.

When we were finally close enough to reach him, Madge and I leaned over the side of the lifeboat to pull him up. We grabbed either side of his life jacket and pulled as hard as we could. His head lolled forward, but we couldn't lift him any higher. Seeing us struggle, the crew worker released the oars and leaned over to help us pull Peeta into the boat.

Water dripped from his body as we laid him down on the bottom of the boat. My fingers brushed his cheek which was so cold that my fingers seemed to freeze at the contact.

The crew worker brushed me aside as he put his ear to Peeta's mouth, listening for breath for several seconds, and then placed his fingers on the side of Peeta's neck, just under his jaw.

I watched in torturous anticipation for the crew worker's reaction.

His eyes suddenly widened and he looked up at Madge and me. "He's alive," he said in disbelief.

My heart thudded at those words. Alive? Peeta was alive? I must have heard wrong.

"Alive?" I breathed.

But the crew worker wasn't listening to me. He began removing Peeta's life jacket, which was difficult since it had frozen to his clothes. I watched, still in shock, as the crew worker removed his own heavy jacket and wrapped it around Peeta.

"Lie next to him," the crew worker ordered. "Warm him up."

I quickly lay down next to Peeta, hugging him to me, willing all of the warmth in my body to seep into his.

I looked up at Madge and saw tears streaming down her face. I suddenly remembered Gale. How had I forgotten about him? I was being so selfish.

"Keep looking Madge," I urged. "He has to be in this area. I'm sure he and Peeta stayed together."

Madge silently nodded and picked up the flashlight that I had carelessly dropped earlier.

Her cries for Gale sounded distant as I focused on Peeta, hugging him to me as tightly as I could.

The search went on for a while longer, until Madge's calls became loud sobs. My heart ached for her, but I was so focused on Peeta that I couldn't properly grieve for Gale yet.

We didn't find any other survivors floating in the water, and I could tell that the crew worker was getting tired from rowing.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Peeta's breathing became slightly louder.

"Wake up, Peeta," I whispered as a tear leaked from the corner of my eye. "Please wake up."

But he still wasn't waking up.

Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a ship horn in the distance.

"What is that?" I asked the crew worker, seeing Madge sitting in the lifeboat, staring straight ahead but not seeing.

"A ship!" the crew worker cried. "We're saved!"

I sat up a little to see the ship, being careful not to jostle Peeta too much.

I could see the ship's lights in the distance, a beam of light that pierced the dark terrors of this night. Finally, the hope that had been knocking on my heart earlier was allowed inside. I hugged Peeta to me tighter, barely registering the cold seeping from his body into mine.

When the ship finally stopped a short distance away, the crew worker began rowing our lifeboat towards it. Other lifeboats were doing the same, like moths to a flame. Except this flame was bringing life and saving us from death.

* * *

><p>After we had boarded the rescue ship – which I learned was named the <em>Carpathia<em> – some of its crew workers took Peeta to a cabin. Despite their protests, I followed them and watched protectively as they laid Peeta on a bed, carefully removed his frozen clothes, and buried him under several thick wool blankets.

Once they had left, and Peeta and I were alone, I pulled up a chair next to his bed and sat down on it heavily. I reached under the blankets, finding his cold hand and wove my fingers through his.

Time passed slowly as I watched him, anticipating the moment he would open his eyes. Even though he wasn't opening his eyes yet, I felt immense relief upon seeing that the ice had finally melted from his hair, his lips had returned to their normal color, and his chest had begun to rise and fall steadily as he drew deeper breaths.

A crew worker came in to check on Peeta once, bringing a warm rag with him to wipe the blood from Peeta's face and lay on his forehead. I silently watched as he did this, my eyes never leaving Peeta's face.

When we had been alone again for some time, the horrors of the night finally began drifting into my thoughts. I thought of Gale. And Madge. Before I had followed the crew workers into the cabin, I had made sure Madge was being cared for. She had become catatonic, her eyes wide and unseeing, her face pale. Some crew workers had helped her to lie down on a bench and then covered her with some blankets.

The fingers of grief over losing Gale then began to reach into my heart. Gale. Strong, fierce, determined Gale, who had supported me and been there for me when my whole world had shattered with the deaths of my family. How could he be gone now too? I began crying quietly, hot salty tears streaming down my face.

I wept for Gale. Wept for Madge who had also lost Gale. For Haymitch, who had saved my life by getting me on a lifeboat. For all of those who had frozen to death, floating in the icy water, hoping in vain that those in the lifeboats would come back for them. And for those who had remained on the ship as it sank, now buried at the bottom of the ocean.

I wondered if Johanna, Annie, and Finnick had survived, but began to accept that they probably hadn't. I wept for them too.

I exhausted myself by crying. After my tears had run dry, the warmth of the cabin began beckoning to me, causing my eyelids to droop. I tried to keep my eyes open, wanting to be awake when Peeta opened his eyes, but finally, I laid my head down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>I was awoken some time later when I felt something moving in my hand. My eyes shot open as I realized it was Peeta's hand moving in mine, our fingers still intertwined. I sat up and looked at his face.<p>

His eyelashes were fluttering slightly, as if he were trying to open his eyes. And his fingers continued twitching in mine. I noticed his palm was sweaty against my own and saw the flush on his cheeks. My heart soared with the relief of seeing no trace of the cold that had nearly killed him before.

"Peeta?" I said quietly, reaching up with my other hand to brush his cheek gently.

His eyes slowly fluttered open. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of his blue eyes.

I could tell the moment he recognized me as his eyes locked on mine, half open as they were.

"Is this a dream?" he croaked out so quietly I barely heard him.

I made a noise that sounded like a sob and a laugh at the same time before I replied, "No, Peeta. This is real. I'm here. I'm alive. You're alive."

Tears leaked down my cheeks and I saw worry flicker in his eyes.

"I was so scared, Peeta," I began as I peppered gentle kisses on his cheeks. "I thought you were dead."

A look of longing passed his face as he realized he was too weak to move and could barely talk. Seeing this, I leaned toward him and planted a warm kiss on his lips, letting my lips melt into his as they always seemed to do. I felt a slight pressure of his lips as he tried to kiss me more fully but didn't have much strength to do so.

After I moved away, his eyes glanced around the room. "Where are we?" he whispered.

"On the _Carpathia_. Another ship. They rescued us."

"I don't know if I'm ready for another ship," he replied, quirking the side of his mouth up in a slight smile.

"Me either," I chuckled. "But it was better than floating for who knows how long in a lifeboat."

Suddenly his face got serious. "Where's Gale?"

I closed my eyes to keep the tears from welling up in them. "We couldn't find him," I barely managed to say.

I felt his fingers brush against my cheek. I opened my eyes to see his own staring at me with such sorrow that I thought my heart would break all over again.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss," he whispered. "He was with me the whole time. He must have slipped off the bench we were holding onto…"

I nodded, swallowing back the tears.

"He made me promise," Peeta said.

I looked at him, furrowing my brows. "Promise what?"

"That I would take care of you."

I grasped his hand tighter in mine and smiled gently.

"I'm so tired," he said as his eyelids began to droop again.

"Go to sleep," I replied, smoothing his damp hair back.

"Will you stay with me?" he barely managed to say before sleep overtook him again.

I whispered back, "Always."


	17. Chapter 17

**_~Peeta~_**

When the fingers of consciousness first began to creep into me, I thought I was dreaming. I could feel my body again. I was warm – too warm. I was sweating. As the nerves on my skin began to come alive, I felt more heat in one of my hands and realized someone was holding it.

My mind was slow and I felt confused. I had no idea where I was or who was holding my hand. Mother would never hold my hand…

I heard someone saying my name by my ear. Someone was calling to me in a smooth, pleading voice. I had slowly opened my eyes, which was difficult feeling as if heavy weights were lying on each of my eyelids, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw a beautiful woman staring down at me.

She had dark, wavy hair that hung loosely about her shoulders, olive-toned skin, and she wore a heavy coat over a dark green dress. But what really drew my attention were her silver eyes. Eyes that looked as deep and treacherous as a stormy sky.

The name Katniss suddenly came to mind and then all of the memories associated with that name flooded my mind.

"Is this a dream?" I had asked her, barely able to speak. My vocal chords still felt frozen together.

I wanted so desperately to hold her and kiss her back, but my muscles were so weak and tired from being clenched so tightly earlier in the freezing water that I could barely move my hand up to touch her face when she had told me about Gale.

I couldn't believe Gale was gone. It didn't seem possible. He had been with me the whole time. His was the last face I had seen before losing consciousness. But I remembered the look of resignation in his eyes when I had promised to take care of Katniss.

If they couldn't find him, as Katniss said, then he must have slipped off of the bench we were clinging to. It suddenly hit me that had he not given up his life jacket for me, he might still be alive. Guilt wormed its way into my heart. I felt so helpless and stupid for not being able to swim. Why should I have survived while Gale and hundreds of others did not?

But when I looked into Katniss's eyes, I thought I could understand why Gale and Haymitch had wanted me to take care of her. Not because she was helpless or incapable of being on her own…but because she deserved to be loved.

Katniss began smoothing my hair back and my eyelids instantly became heavy again. I fell asleep as the word "always" echoed in my mind.

* * *

><p>I awoke some time later with a start, sitting straight up in the small bed. Katniss, who had crawled into the bed next to me, jumped awake.<p>

I looked around the room, trying to reorient myself, as the remains of my nightmare slipped away.

"Peeta, are you alright?" Katniss asked, gently rubbing my back as I rested my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands, trying to catch my breath.

"Just a bad dream," I whispered.

I felt her plant a small kiss on my shoulder and then her arms wrapped around my waist. "It's alright. You're here with me. You're safe."

Just as my heart began to slow to its normal rate, I suddenly felt the sway of the _Carpathia_. I was on another ship.

My heart rate shot back up and I began to hyperventilate.

My nightmare was becoming reality. I was back on the _Titanic_. It was sinking. People were screaming. People were dying. _I _was going to die.

I could vaguely hear Katniss calling to me, but I was breathing so quickly that I couldn't seem to get a proper breath. The last thing I remember was hearing Katniss call out for help as I collapsed back on the bed.

* * *

><p>When I awoke once again, I was in a different place. I could hear coughing and quiet talking. I slowly opened my eyes. A sterile smell hit my nose and made me grimace slightly. I noticed other men were lying on beds next to me and across from me. I was in a hospital.<p>

A nurse suddenly walked over to me. She was wearing a long white dress, customary for nurses, and a white cap on top of her perfectly styled hair. Seeing me awake, she said cheerfully, "Well, finally, sleepyhead! We were getting worried about you!"

Confused, I didn't respond. She didn't seem to notice when she stated, "I'll be right back," as she walked away.

I was wearing a thin hospital gown, and was quickly beginning to realize that the sheets weren't doing much to keep me warm. I fought back the memories of the cold when Katniss suddenly strode into view.

I felt my heart leap at the sight of her, but then it sank when I saw her face. She had obviously been crying.

"Katniss," I began, reaching for her instinctively but wasn't sure if I could get up. "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Madge," she replied quietly.

Sorrow and regret over the loss of Gale swallowed my heart again. My heart broke for Madge. For Katniss.

Katniss continued, "She's…she's catatonic. She won't respond, won't eat, won't sleep, won't do anything. I don't know what to do."

I held my arm out to her, wanting to comfort her but unable to go to her.

Seeing my invitation, Katniss closed the distance between us and sat on the bed to let me hold her.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered again.

"I don't think there's much you can do. She needs to grieve for Gale and so do you. Just be with her. I think that's the most you can do."

I felt her nod against my chest. "Alright," she replied so quietly I could barely hear her.

She didn't move away from me, though. Sensing her reluctance to leave me, I said, "I'll be here, Katniss. I'm not going anywhere."

I nudged her to sit up so I could look into her eyes and give her a tender kiss.

After our lips parted, she rose from the bed and said, "I'll be back soon," as she walked away.

I remained on the bed, contemplating the ceiling and losing track of time, until the nurse from earlier came back in.

"Glad to see you're still awake," she remarked with a bright smile that nearly blinded me. "I'm Effie. I've been looking after you," she beamed.

"Peeta," I replied as I genuinely tried to smile back, but the need to relieve myself was becoming unbearable and I felt my turn into a grimace rather than a smile.

"I know," Effie smiled. "Do you need anything, sugar?" she asked, noticing my discomfort.

I blushed. "I need…I need to…"

Effie nodded in understanding. "There's a pan right over here," she replied, gesturing next to my bed.

She made no move to help me, so I thought maybe she expected I could do it on my own. I realized as I pushed myself up to a sitting position and swung my legs over the side of the bed that I hadn't been on my feet since I was still on the _Titanic_. I swallowed, trying to shove away the memories.

When I tried to push myself to my feet, I wobbled noticeably. I felt as if I were still on the water. Fortunately, Effie noticed and walked over to me, placing an arm around my waist to steady me.

I was able to relieve myself, despite the immense embarrassment I felt over having a nurse hold me steady as I did so. She hardly seemed to notice or care, though, as if this was something she did on a regular basis – which it probably was – so that eased my humiliation somewhat.

After I lay back down on the bed, Effie checked my temperature and examined me to make sure I was recovering. I had a few stitches in the gash on my forehead and across the bridge of my nose.

"You really gave that girl a scare earlier," she remarked when she finished cleaning the stitches.

"Who? Katniss?"

She nodded. "You passed out when you were still on the _Carpathia_. They think you had a panic attack."

I lowered my eyes, feeling weak and guilty over scaring Katniss.

Effie continued, "Of course, I can't blame you. If I had not only witnessed, but had been a part of such a horrific tragedy, I would have a panic attack too."

I thought back to when I started having my panic attack. I had just woken up from a nightmare and then felt the _Carpathia _moving beneath me. It had made my nightmare seem real. I was already suffering the effects of having endured such a terrifying event. My heart sank at the thought of dealing with this for the rest of my life.

As if reading my thoughts, Effie said, "Don't worry, sugar. You might still have occasional panic attacks from time to time and suffer other negative effects of what you experienced, but they will fade with time." She smiled her bright smile again. "And, you have no permanent or concerning physical harm, so you will be free to leave soon. You'll just need to come back in a few days to get those stitches removed."

My heart lightened a little at the prospect of leaving the hospital. But then I realized I didn't know where I would go. It occurred to me that I hadn't seen Mother on the _Carpathia_. Surely, she had survived. Maybe she didn't know that _I _had survived.

* * *

><p>I must have fallen asleep again, because I woke up some time later with Katniss caressing my cheek.<p>

I smiled before I even opened my eyes. "That feels nice," I whispered.

I opened my eyes and saw her smiling gently back at me. She must have seen the longing in my eyes because she leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips.

When she tried to pull away, my hand wound around to the back of her neck, holding her down so that we wouldn't break the kiss just yet.

A surprised whimper escaped her lips and I took the opportunity to slip my tongue into her mouth. I felt her body relax into me as her tongue began to dance with mine. The memories of the cold completely left my mind and body as she kissed me deeply and passionately.

Suddenly someone coughed behind us. Katniss jumped back and put her hand over her mouth, effectively hiding her surely swollen lips, but not hiding the flush that crept into her face. I raised my knees to hide the state of excitement our kiss left me in as I met Effie's stare.

She was blushing too I realized and I smiled proudly. I felt so lucky to be alive and to still have Katniss with me that this wasn't even going to come close to dampening my mood.

Effie smiled back. "Sorry to interrupt, darlings, but I've come to discharge you, Mr. Mellark."

I felt relief that I no longer had to stay in the hospital, but the worry over where I would go was now an even greater issue.

"I've brought some clothes for you, Mr. Mellark," Effie said as she placed them on the end of the bed. "I'll leave you two to get ready to leave."

After she had walked away I looked at Katniss.

"How's Madge?" I asked.

"The same," Katniss replied sadly, looking down. "They're going to keep her here for a while."

"We'll visit her, Katniss." I reached for her hand and laced my fingers with hers.

She nodded and smiled softly at me as I tenderly kissed the back of her hand.

"Will you…will you help me?" I asked sheepishly, darting my eyes to the clothes on the end of the bed.

Katniss followed my gaze and nodded as she stood up to gather the clothes Effie had left for me. "Of course."

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and Katniss knelt down to get my pants around my ankles. I pulled them up and buttoned them in place, then removed the hospital gown.

Katniss held my shirt out to me and helped me get it over my head.

As she pulled my socks and shoes on she said, "Peeta, can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"I'm…I'm worried about you," she replied quietly.

"Why?"

"Well, that…that panic attack you had on the _Carpathia_ really scared me," she said barely above a whisper as she raised her eyes to meet mine. The silver in her eyes was pooling with tears.

Noticing she had finished tying my shoes, I gently took her hand and guided her to sit next to me. I held her hand between both of mine as I replied, "I'm so sorry, Katniss. I don't want to scare you, but…but the nurse said I may still get panic attacks sometimes." I paused as she took a deep breath. "But I think I know what triggered it."

She looked at me expectantly.

"I was having a nightmare and…and then when I felt the _Carpathia _moving…" I trailed off, feeling shame at my weakness.

Katniss caressed my cheek. "Peeta, it's alright. I'm going to help you get through this. We'll recover together."

I looked up at her hopefully. "You…so you'll stay with me?"

"I believe _you _were the one who promised to stay with _me_," she replied, a shy smile playing at the edges of her mouth.

I smiled and replied, "Always."

I felt that I could overcome anything as long as I knew she would be with me. But when I remembered I had nothing to offer her my smile fell.

"What is it?" she asked, her brows furrowing in concern.

"I…I don't have anything, Katniss. Nowhere to go. No money. Nothing."

She looked at me for a moment and I saw something flicker in her eyes. And it wasn't worry.

She helped me to my feet, keeping me steady, as she asked, "What about your family's money?"

"Well, my mother –"

She interrupted me, "Your mother isn't in control of you anymore."

I stared at her intently. "You've seen her haven't you?"

She waited a long moment before she finally nodded. "I saw her in one of the lifeboats," she said quietly.

Just then, as if she somehow knew we were talking about her, Mother stormed into the room.

**_~Katniss~_**

As crazy as it sounded, I was somewhat relieved when Peeta's mother walked into the room. I didn't think I had it in me to tell him how she refused to look for him when we had been in the lifeboats. While I'm sure it wouldn't surprise him, I knew it would hurt. And I didn't think I could bear hurting him anymore. He was already in a fragile state of mind.

"Peeta!" Mrs. Mellark cried, truly sounding like a woman who thought her son was dead and was just founding out he was alive. I could see tears were streaming down her cheeks as she drew closer.

Even I was taken aback at how concerned and relieved she actually seemed.

When she finally reached Peeta, seemingly not even noticing me, she practically knocked him backward as she threw her arms around him. His eyes widened in shock. I guessed that his mother had never treated him this way…maybe had never even hugged him.

I noticed his legs were beginning to buckle under him from the weight and unsteadiness, and I reached out to hold him in place. He looked at me gratefully before his mother finally pulled away, taking his face in her hands.

"Peeta, I can't believe you're alive! I was so worried about you! I thought you were dead!" Mrs. Mellark cried.

"No…no, I made it. But barely. Katniss saved me," he said as he reached out for me.

I took his outstretched hand, and finally Mrs. Mellark's eyes landed on me. Her facial expression took on a look of gratitude but I saw the disdain flickering in her eyes as she held my stare.

Peeta must have noticed because his expression changed. "You still hate her?" he asked in angered disbelief. "Even though she saved my life?"

"Just because she saved you doesn't mean you have to ruin your life by being with her," she replied scornfully.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by her response, but the selfishness of this woman stunned me. Even after finding out her son had survived the sinking of the _Titanic_.

"Mother, we're done with this. I don't care what you say or do, I love Katniss and nothing will change that," Peeta replied surprisingly calmly, as if he had finally resolved all of the turmoil about his mother in his mind.

"I could still have her arrested!" his mother countered.

"By whom?" Peeta asked, his anger clearly rising. "All of the crew workers who would have been your witnesses are dead!"

This seemed to take his mother aback. She stood there, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we were just leaving," Peeta said firmly.

"Where will you go?" she called after us as we began to walk away. "You have no money!"

"I'll figure something out," Peeta responded as he glanced down at me and smiled.

My heart melted as his deep blue eyes locked on mine, portraying so much hope and love, that any worry I had about my future – _our _future – completely dissipated.

In that moment, I felt a peace and joy that I hadn't known since my family was still alive. It had been so long since I experienced those things that I had forgotten what they felt like. Images of a safe, secure, and happy future flooded my mind. All including Peeta. I saw us getting married – something I had not given much thought to before. Having children, growing old together. Falling asleep in his arms every night and waking up next to him every morning.

"If we can survive the sinking of the _Titanic_, we can survive anything," I said cheerfully.

Peeta nodded in agreement. "Unsinkable."

"What?" I asked, my brow furrowing in confusion.

"We're unsinkable," he repeated, smiling.

I smiled back. He was right. Not only was the _Titanic _unable to take us down to the depths of the ocean with her, but the tragedies, unkindness, and depression we had experienced in our lives couldn't sink us either. Peeta kept me afloat in the dark seas of life, and I did the same for him. Alone, we would drown. But together...we were unsinkable.


	18. Epilogue

**_Warning: Mature content ahead!_**

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><p><strong><em>~Katniss~<em>**

Every day that passed after the sinking of the _Titanic_, we heard news of another passenger that was found floating in the sea. We waited to hear about Finnick, Annie, and Johanna, but never heard anything about them again.

I had mixed feelings about hearing the names of the passengers they did find. A part of me wanted to shut out any and all news of the tragedy, trying to forget the horrible memories of that night. But another part of me felt that I needed to know who they were. I needed to know the names of the people that could have taken my place on the lifeboat. Why should I have lived when they did not? How is it fair that I survived and they did not?

Peeta said I shouldn't think like that. That it only brings on undeserved guilt. He said we can't change what happened, and that we should try to be thankful that both us of survived. But he was being a hypocrite – I knew he felt the heavy burden of guilt over Gale. It took him months to tell me what happened after I boarded the lifeboat and he remained on the ship. I never pried, knowing that he would tell me when he was ready. He suffered panic attacks on a regular basis and I didn't want to add to them by questioning him about what happened.

When he finally did tell me, he remained surprisingly calm, but had to pause several times to maintain his composure, especially when he talked about Haymitch and the little boy, Matthew, he found.

I expected him to have a panic attack when he told me what happened with Gale, but he only began crying. The guilt overwhelming him as he finally admitted what he felt was his fault. I had held him close and cried with him.

While the night that he told me everything had been riddled with grief, it also became a happy memory for both of us.

After we had cried all of our tears, Peeta looked up at me and said, "I'm so sorry, Katniss. That I couldn't save him for you."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Peeta. I miss him, but it's not your fault."

Peeta didn't look convinced.

"Peeta, you barely survived yourself. You can't hold yourself accountable for things that were out of your control. All that we can do now is live well. Somehow, for some reason, we both survived. We can honor the memory of those who died that night by living well. Gale would want that." I surprised myself at my eloquence, but Peeta seemed enamored with my words.

He suddenly reached up and caressed my cheek. "And that's why I love you, Katniss Everdeen."

He sat up and gave me a full, warm kiss. It was as if all of the guilt and horrible memories dissipated in that kiss. It quickly became full of heat, passion, and desperation. And Peeta made love to me slow and steady, and with so much love and tenderness that I couldn't imagine a world without him. The gratitude I felt for his survival overwhelmed me and tears leaked down my cheeks as Peeta lay on my breasts, catching his breath after his release.

He must have heard me sniffle because he lifted his head and looked up at me quizzically.

"Katniss, what is it?" he asked, running his thumbs gently along my cheeks to catch my tears.

"Marry me," I blurted out.

Peeta's eyes widened. "What?"

I took a deep breath and repeated myself, "Marry me. Marry me, Peeta."

He stared at me, his mouth hanging open. He didn't respond for so long that I began to panic, thinking that he would say no.

Suddenly he broke out into a huge grin. "I thought _I _was supposed to ask _you _that."

"So you will?" I asked, still feeling anxious.

He laughed. "Of course I will, Katniss." He kissed me deeply. "Yes."

We giggled as we peppered each other's faces with kisses.

"What made you ask me that?" he asked after a moment.

"I was just thinking…I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't survived that night, Peeta. I can't imagine life without you. And I don't want to waste any more time. I want to marry you. Build a life with you. I want you by my side every day for the rest of my life."

Peeta looked at me with such adoration and love that I thought my heart might burst from my chest. When he kissed me again, the passion spiraled into another round of love-making.

We got married a week later, in a very small ceremony that included us, Madge, and hers and Gale's new baby boy, Rory, who looked exactly like Gale, despite how small he still was. Dark hair, silver eyes, and olive-toned skin. It made my heart clench and leap at the same time to see the resemblance. My heart ached for this Rory, for Madge, and for Gale – that he would never get to meet his son. But the joy this baby boy brought to Madge lightened my heart.

Madge had remained catatonic for several weeks after the sinking. Peeta and I had visited her several times, trying to talk to her, but she wouldn't move or speak. It was becoming harder and harder to visit her. But the doctors noticed things changing in her body and ran tests, which led to the discovery of her pregnancy.

I had been sitting with Madge in her hospital room, holding her hand and trying to talk to her, when a doctor had come in. He didn't waste any time and stated, "She's pregnant."

Madge had suddenly blinked and turned her head towards the doctor. I stared in shock, thinking I had imagined her movement.

"I'm what?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

The doctor's face softened. "You're pregnant. About six weeks along."

Madge turned to me, her eyes brimming with tears, her mouth hanging open. "Katniss," she choked out as a smile spread itself on her face. "Did you hear that? I'm having Gale's baby."

I smiled as tears blurred my vision and leaked down my cheeks, gripping her hands tightly in mine. "Peeta and I will help you, Madge. With whatever you need."

"Thank you," she had whispered back, her eyes shining brightly with new hope.

After that, Madge had pulled herself together. She became healthy and strong again, and her mother had welcomed her back home. Her mother had been grieving too over losing Mr. Undersee in the sinking. I found out that she had visited Madge several times as well. I felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders once I saw how well Madge was recovering.

And on the day Rory was born, I had stayed with Madge during the whole birthing process. Encouraging her, letting her squeeze my hand when she needed to, and crying over Gale with her too.

The love and adoration that took over the features of her pain-riddled face when her son was presented to her made my heart ache over Gale's absence. _He should be here_, I thought. Madge was so happy that I hid my sorrow, but when she handed hers and Gale's new son to me, I felt the same love and adoration that had taken over her. And the sorrow dissipated. While I would always miss Gale, my heart soared with the knowledge that a piece of him would always be with us.

Life had taken a turn for the better for Peeta and I shortly before Rory was born. Up until that point, we had been living on the remaining money Gale and I had had. Madge refused to take any of it, claiming she was already well taken care of, and insisted that we should use it.

We had managed to find a small apartment in New York City that was really just one big room with a bed, a kitchen, a table, a dresser, a toilet, and a bathtub. It wasn't glamorous by any means, and we often endured criticism from our neighbors for being an unmarried couple that was living together, but we mostly ignored them and tried to put the pieces of our lives back together.

Peeta woke up with nightmares almost every night, thinking he was back on the ship, separated from me. He would wake up shivering and murmuring my name, and I would wake up with him to comfort him and remind him that I was with him and wasn't going anywhere. It was exhausting, but I comforted him without complaint.

His panic attacks were less frequent than his nightmares but still occurred. Usually he could determine when one was coming on since he knew what often triggered it – feeling a cold breeze, hearing rushing water, hearing someone shout in a panicked voice. I had found him more than once sitting in our bathtub, the water gone cold, shivering uncontrollably and staring blankly at the wall.

His panic attacks were becoming less and less frequent as time passed, but occasionally they overcame him out of nowhere and he would pass out, which made it difficult for him to find and maintain a job.

So as my remaining money began to dwindle, and the money I was making as a seamstress wasn't enough, I began to worry about our future. I didn't bring up my worry to Peeta for fear that his condition would only worsen, but the burden was becoming heavy to bear on my own.

Just when I didn't think I could shoulder the burden on my own anymore, a visitor had shown up at our door. He introduced himself as Plutarch Heavensbee, Haymitch Abernathy's attorney. I was apprehensive about his presence, but he hardly seemed to notice as he explained that Haymitch had ordered that I inherit his wealth upon his death.

I had stared at him, dumbfounded. I must have misunderstood him.

"Um…pardon?" I asked.

He chuckled. "You are to inherit Mr. Abernathy's wealth since he died on the _Titanic._"

"Peeta!" I called over my shoulder, rousing Peeta from his nap.

He hurriedly strode over to where I stood in our apartment doorway and looked at Mr. Heavensbee.

"What's going on?" Peeta asked apprehensively.

Mr. Heavensbee smiled and stuck out his hand for Peeta to shake. The two men introduced themselves, then Mr. Heavensbee proceeded to explain what he had already explained to me.

I watched Peeta's reaction as Mr. Heavensbee told him. Peeta's eyes widened and his jaw continued to drop lower.

"Wow, that's…wow," he whispered.

"I don't understand," I began. "Why would Haymitch leave all of his wealth to me?"

Peeta looked at me and understanding crossed over his face. He slowly and calmly explained Haymitch's connection to me, to my family. I was sure that I experienced every emotion possible within the amount of minutes it took for Peeta to explain how Haymitch had owned the mines that mine and Gale's fathers had worked in.

As I let everything sink in, Mr. Heavensbee told Peeta how to reach him so that I could receive my inheritance and then left.

It had taken some time for me to absorb the knowledge of not only who Haymitch was, but also what he had done for me. While I would gladly take the lives of my family back over the amount of money I was to receive from Haymitch, any anger I had toward him dissipated as I realized just how much he _had_ done for me. He had not only given me my life by getting me a place on a lifeboat, but he had played a role in saving Peeta's life too. For that, I would be eternally grateful.

Even after I received my inheritance from Haymitch, Peeta and I stayed in our small apartment, continuing to put the pieces of our lives back together. We weren't quite sure what to do with the money just yet and decided to take small steps toward moving on.

Peeta got increasingly better and I no longer had to work long, exhausting hours. Even though living in a small apartment wasn't ideal, I found that it became endearing. Living in such close quarters with Peeta, I was getting to know every little detail about him. Even the annoying ones, like how he always double-knotted his shoelaces and absolutely had to sleep with the windows open. But I was falling more in love with him every day.

Since he struggled to find a job, he stayed home and made sure the apartment was clean, or he would go out and run whatever errands were necessary. Supper was always ready for me when I got home – I was thrilled to learn that he could cook – and he loved me tenderly at night.

That night that he finally told me about what happened on the _Titanic _and when we decided to get married had been a turning point in our lives. It was as if we were finally letting go of the tragedies and horrors of our past and grasping our future.

One night after we got married, I came home from work to find that Peeta had made all kinds of bread, which were strewn about the small kitchen.

"So I guess we are having bread for dinner?" I asked jokingly.

He startled and I immediately regretted sneaking up on him, thinking I had sent him into another panic attack, but then he chuckled. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

I walked up to him and kissed his cheek as he continued to knead the dough he was currently working on.

"So bread?" I asked, smiling.

"Well…I was thinking," he began slowly but then stopped.

"Thinking what?" I encouraged him to continue.

"What if we opened a bakery?" He sounded like a small child when he asked that, as if he were expecting me to say no.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," I replied happily.

He turned to face me. "Really?" He smiled.

I nodded. "You've always wanted to honor the memory of your father and I think opening a bakery is the perfect way to do that."

The grin that spread itself on his face was so wide I thought it would split his face. He smacked a loud kiss on my lips before he said, "Thank you, Katniss. Thank you."

I laughed. "You don't have to thank me, Peeta. This will be good for both of us."

So we developed plans, hired the right people, and built a bakery with an apartment above it for us. It took a little over a year for everything to be done, but it was well worth the time and money. The bakery thrived. Everyone had heard of Mellark's Bakery and its fantastic reputation, so we never failed to have customers. Even when the stock market crashed 15 years later, we continued to thrive. People still needed bread, and Peeta probably donated more than he should have, but we managed.

The bakery was so dear to our hearts, that our daughter and our son even grew up there.

We had never really discussed having children or planned having them, but the morning I knew I was pregnant, five years after the sinking of the _Titanic_, I felt more excitement than fear. I always thought having children would scare me, but I was so happy and safe and secure in my life that I had built with Peeta, even after the tragedies we had endured, that I couldn't wait to meet the baby girl stirring inside me.

When I had told Peeta, I was sure his smile shone brighter than the sun. He had picked me up and swung me around and wouldn't stop kissing me.

He was thrilled that our first, our daughter Lily, had more of my looks than his. Dark hair and olive skin. But her eyes were startlingly blue like her father's. And as she got older, we found that she had more of Peeta's mannerisms than mine. She was gentle, kind-hearted, and quick to smile. She followed Peeta around everywhere and wanted him to teach her to bake and paint, which he gladly obliged. We quickly learned that she definitely inherited his artistic abilities as well.

Our son, Mitchell, named after Haymitch, was born three years later. He possessed more of Peeta's physical features. Blonde hair and fair skin. But he had my silver eyes and all of the qualities that accompanied them – stormy and treacherous. He was much more like me in his mannerisms than Lily was. He was fiery, contemplative, and stubborn. He was also fond of the outdoors like I was, so he and I spent many days in quiet places in Central Park.

I remembered the exact night that Mitchell was conceived.

We had just shut down the bakery for the night and were putting Lily to bed when she asked if she could have a brother. Peeta and I had looked at each other, wondering where this question had come from, then Peeta replied, "Someday, you might have a brother."

"Why do you ask?" I questioned.

"Because I have fun with Rory. But you aren't his mommy and daddy so he has to leave. I want a brother so I can play with him whenever I want," she had said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I smiled at her and kissed her forehead as I said, "We'll see about getting you a baby brother."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Peeta staring at me. I smirked and rose from our daughter's bed, wishing her a goodnight, then walked over to the doorway.

I paused when I heard Peeta's voice.

"Goodnight, honey," he said to Lily, then leaned down to give her a tender kiss on the forehead. "I love you."

She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and squeezed tightly. "Love you too, daddy."

My heart melted. I could watch her and Peeta forever and be happy. The way he loved her and doted on her. How gentle and purposeful he was with everything regarding her. And the way she looked at him as if he were the sun itself. It warmed my heart to no end.

The first time she had seen Peeta during one of his panic attacks, I was just about to lead her away from the room, but she had carefully approached him as he sat on the sofa, elbows on his knees and head in his hands, eyes squeezed shut tight, panting for breath. Intrigued by her fearlessness, I watched as she had reached out her tiny hand and merely touched his face.

He had suddenly snapped out of his panic attack. His breathing returned to normal and his eyes snapped open. They softened when they saw her standing before him, a concerned expression on her face.

He pulled her in for a hug and kissed her hair. "Thank you, Lily. Thank you."

I had covered my mouth with my hand as tears leaked down my face. It was such a tender moment, and such a relief as well. We had finally found the cure for his panic attacks.

They had a special bond that I loved. And as I watched him kissing her goodnight, that bond was only confirmed when she said, not realizing I was still present, "Did I say the right thing, daddy?"

He smiled broadly. "You were perfect. Now you will definitely have a little brother or sister."

I rolled my eyes at their scheme and chuckled to myself as I left for mine and Peeta's bedroom. I undressed and unraveled my hair from its braid. As I was pulling my nightgown over my head I heard the door open and close quietly.

"Need some help?" Peeta said lowly, just behind me.

I knew he was trying to start something, so I pulled the gown on the rest of the way, turned around, and smiled at him as if to say, "Ha. I got it on my own."

I saw a flash of disappointment in Peeta's eyes, but I decided to play hard-to-get and strolled over to our bed, pulling the sheets back.

Peeta cleared his throat. "So…so you want…you want to have another baby?" he fumbled.

I smiled to myself as I crawled into bed. "I'll think about it."

I purposely kept my eyes off of him as he undressed and crawled into bed next to me in his underwear. I leaned toward my nightstand and turned the light off then cuddled up next to him, my head on his chest and his arm around my waist.

I leaned up to kiss him on his cheek then said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he mumbled back.

I counted down the seconds until I knew he would do something. He began stroking my arm lightly, causing me to shiver. I could hear his heart pounding from where I rested my head on his chest. He clearly was not in the frame of mind to sleep. But I wanted to see how long it would take him to finally do what he wanted. He was predictable in that way. It was endearing.

When rubbing my arm wasn't getting him anywhere, he shifted slightly and began kissing my head, moving down to my forehead, then my nose, and eventually placing a light kiss on my lips.

When that didn't work either, he rolled over onto his side so that he was facing me. He placed his body flush against mine, and I could feel his hard manhood poking my lower abdomen.

I could no longer restrain myself. I burst out laughing, which startled him.

"What?" he asked, looking like a child that had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"You!" I laughed. "I know what you're trying to do. You want to have another baby."

Peeta ducked his eyes, the corner of his mouth going up slightly. "Well…Lily really wants a sibling…and I wouldn't mind having another baby."

His eyes darted up to mine with his confession.

I smiled. "Alright."

Peeta looked at me like I had just grown another head. "What?"

I chuckled. "I said, alright. We can have another."

As if he thought I would change my mind, he practically pounced on me. He smothered my mouth with his, kissing me deeply and passionately. His mouth was hot and demanding and his tongue lured mine into a dance.

I could feel the tightening in my lower abdomen and warmth pooled between my legs as he persistently pushed his manhood against my stomach to show his desire for me.

He kneaded my breasts and teased my nipples through my gown until I finally yanked it off and threw it to the side. He moaned in approval as he took one of my hardened peaks into his mouth and lavished it. I moaned in pleasure and arched my back, trying to push myself against his manhood to feel the friction. He happily obliged by grinding his hips into me.

My fingers found their way into his hair and tugged on the soft strands. He grunted and pulled his mouth away from my breasts to smother my mouth again. I used the opportunity to shove his underwear down.

He breathed an audible sigh of relief when his manhood was free from its confines. He tried to get on top of me but I put my hand on his chest, urging him to lie on his back. Instead, _I _got on top of _him_. He seemed surprised since I rarely did this, but with the way that I could feel his manhood twitch against my leg, I knew it was exciting him.

I hovered over him and began kissing his neck, I felt his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed and let out a breath. When I found the sweet spot on his neck, I flicked my tongue against it and his hips involuntarily bucked. He was letting out little bursts of breath and I could tell my teasing was torturing him.

I pulled back and looked down at him. His hair was slightly sticking to his forehead, which had a light sheen of sweat on it, his lips were slightly parted, his cheeks were flushed, his chest rose and fell with his labored breaths, and his eyes smoldered with desire.

I moved my body down his until my core was pressed his against his manhood.

"Katniss," he moaned out, practically begging.

I felt another surge of warmth pool at my core hearing him say my name like that. I lifted my hips up slightly, took him in my hand, and sank down onto him.

His mouth fell open and he let out a quiet, "aahhh," as he threw his head back against the pillows and squeezed his eyes shut.

I steadied myself against his chest and began to move my hips back and forth. His hands slid up my legs and to my hips, helping me move in a rhythm we both liked.

I could tell he was holding back when his stomach muscles clenched and he gritted his teeth. I knew he wouldn't release before me, so I wasn't surprised when I felt his fingers at my folds, rubbing until he found the bundle of nerves aching there.

I released with just a few strokes of his fingers, moaning, clenching him tightly and pulling him deeper inside of me.

He immediately followed. His mouth fell open, a loud moan escaped his throat, and all of the tension left his face as he emptied himself deep inside of me. He shuddered as I collapsed on top of him, still connected.

He kissed the top of my head and chuckled. In between breaths he said, "Do you think Lily heard us?"

I looked up at him, my chin resting on his chest, and shrugged, "She's a pretty deep sleeper."

He smiled and laughed softly as he drew me up to lie next to him, pulling out of me.

"So do you think you're pregnant yet?" he joked.

I swatted his chest and laughed. "I guess we'll see."

I could feel the evidence of his release leaking out of me and secretly hoped that some of it had stayed within me to start a new life.

I could hear Peeta's breathing finally begin to even out and could tell he was falling asleep.

I yawned, "I love you, Peeta."

I felt him softly kiss the top of my head, as it lay on his chest. "I love you too."

It turned out that I _had_ conceived that night, and nine months later our son was born.

As I reflected on the life Peeta and I had built together, I couldn't help the way my heart swelled with joy. After the deaths of my family and the sinking of the _Titanic_, I didn't know how I would ever feel happy or safe again. But Peeta brought all of that and more back into my life.

I was happy with the life we had built together and I knew that we were honoring the memories of those we had lost. I knew my family would be happy for me, Peeta's father would be proud of him for making the Mellark name a respected one, Haymitch would toast us with a glass of brandy, and Gale would be relieved to see how well Peeta had taken care of me and how well Madge was doing with their son. And even those who lost their lives in the tragedy of the _Titanic_ were honored by our lives. Since we had survived and they had not, we made each day count. Peeta and I never took for granted the life we had built together. And we often participated in charity work, to make the lives of those less fortunate better.

Peeta still had occasional nightmares and panic attacks, but overall he had recovered. Sometimes I still cried over the loss of Gale, but Peeta always comforted me and reminded me how happy Gale would be for us.

We never saw Peeta's mother again. After we had Lily, Peeta tried to find her. To tell her that she had a new granddaughter. He thought maybe that would soften her heart. But we only discovered that she had moved across the country to California and heard nothing more of her.

As our children grew up and I contemplated my life, I realized that Peeta had been right all of those years ago. Life had tried to drown us in its miseries, but we had blatantly defied it by making our life together happy and purposeful, proving what Peeta had said…we were unsinkable.

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><p><strong><em>Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the ending to this story! If you liked this story, I have many more Everlark FanFiction ideas and have already begun writing a couple so keep an eye out for them! They will be coming soon!<em>**

**_Thanks again for all of your support during this journey. It's been fun :)_**

**_Cheers!_**


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